Pictures

Here are some pictures of the tattoo process.

I love you Erin. Thanks for coming and listening to me talk inappropriately with Nic. :)
However, you are a crappy phone photographer. :)
LOVE YOU!!












Nic is good. He did my foot.
He is a nice guy. Funny.
Not gonna lie, a bit intimidating at first.
But I realized that if I am the first to throw out an inappropriate, off color comment....that tends to make the mood soften.
Ya know. Mellow out.

Tell me who is intimidating after they are told that it is ok if they touch my boob.
Ok. Condition.
It has to be an accident.

Intimidation.....gone.

See, I told you.
Inappropriate.

Those who love and know me well would not, if fact, DO NOT expect anything less.

Things are changing kids.
I can feel it.
Some notice it.
I notice it.
I talk to myself about it.

I laugh more.
I smile more.
I tend to be more outgoing.
I am more confidant.
I try new things.

I dig it.
I dig it alot.

Wanna see my family?
As in my parents, brothers and sisters?

Here are my parents....sorry ma and pa, I had to post this one.



Oldest Sister Monika.....isnt she hot?


Monika's son Noah with my brother Erik.


Sister Kristin.....nuther hottie....



This is where I come in. 3rd kid.
The reason the rest of them exist. No lie. Ask my mom....when she wakes up. :)


Kristins boys Jordan and Zach.



Brother Erik with his wife Jana and two kids Kannon and Nakaia.


Anna (my sunshine) with late husband Brian (love you B!) and Ava


Flash dancer Ava


Anna and Baby Bella


Brother Matt and his wife Alisa.


Sister Erin and Girlfriend Midge


Doesnt my family rock?
I mean, ok, so most of you have not met them, but just look at them. They rock!
Which leads me to continue to wonder....where the hell did I come from?
Not that I dont rock.
But look how hawt they all are.
I got robbed.

Seriously, WTF?

Oh well, I am the funniest.
I will still be funny when I am old and wrinkly and beauty has fallen to the floor like cigarette ashes, and swept under the moldy ole rug.

So there.

Alisa

Hi!

Its freakin cold out there!! My Gosh!

Tye spent most of the day plowing the neighborhoods driveways.

He is funny.

We have a Polaris Ranger. (Ok, it really is his)

He put the shovel on it and went to town today.

All the neighbors came out and thanked him, then asked him to do the next neighbor.

Then he went to another neighborhood, across from Antelope Drive. He wanted to go plow our friends, Mike and Jen, driveway.

I dig him.

Alot.

He just got back from a C-R-A-Z-Y buffalo hunt.

Yep, buffalo.

He was gone for about 10 days.

Grace and I went up there last weekend.

We really had a great time.

While we were there, Tye had his brother Yale, his buddies Brian, Mike, Herb and Jerry there as well.

For a half a second, I thought "I am not sure that I want to hang out with all the dudes".

Duh!

HELLO?

Truth is, I have always hung out with the dudes better than the chics.

Thats not to say that I dont have girlfriends that I consider sisters.

Just, as a whole, I do the dude thing better.

Brian and Yale


Brian, Tye and Yale


Brian, Mike, Yale and Tye

I am lucky though. Cuz I love all of Tye's friends. Serious. I know women who are disgusted by and HATE their husbands friends.

I really do love them. I have a friendship with about 95% of them outside of the friendship that they have with Tye. Really, his friends are our family. Especially these guys.

I think that is groovy.

So this last weekend was nothing but fun.

Turnin up the Ipod in the RV and dancin, sitting by the fire playing STUPID games **wink at Brian** (Still fun), sittin in the tent while Yale and Tye jam on their guitars, then going out to look for the buffalo.

Really, I cherish these times, and I am so thankful that I get to have them. And specifically this weekend, that I got to have the time with Brian, Mike, Yale and Tye. (And Jerry and Herb, but they didnt stay long).

So, for years, Tye has been a pretty serious hunter. He is so freakin smart about it. People come to him constantly about hunting. Whether it is about where to hunt, how to hunt or when to hunt (and everything in between). He knows his stuff. Anyway, I have never gone hunting with him. I really am not interested in killing something. But I have no judgement about anyone else hunting. Plus, we eat everything he hunts.

In the 12 years that we have been together, I have never ever ever ever shot a bow. That is until last Saturday.

I picked up Graces bow (which is adjusted to a 7 year old) and just started trying to figure it out.

Now, it isnt brain surgery.

Hell, it isnt even Oral Surgery. But still, it isnt like you pick it up and you are just good at it.....well, unless you're me. :)

I played for about 3 hours straight while listening to Pink Floyd and Aerosmith.

It was good.

When Tye got back that night from glassing (and whatever else), once I got past my furry, I let him know that he gets to buy his wife a bow.

The next day, he adjusted Graces bow so my draw was alot further, and he set it to a higher poundage. (I am just pulling this lingo out, I have no idea if what I am saying is right or not)

Since my draw was alot farther than Graces, I needed to use longer arrows.

Thanks Brian.

He let me use his arrows.

I am not sure how far I shot from. But really, I kicked it!

No lie.

It totally turned Tye on.

Hell, I was turned on.

So, my point.

Shooting a bow is fun. And I didnt know that I would like it or be somewhat decent at it.

I cant wait to go shoot it again.
Really.
I think about it numerous times daily.
Like right now.
I am totally thinking about it this second.

So when Grace and I left, we left in a hurry. Snow was coming, and it was coming soon.

Tye and the boys had to pack up camp and move down lower. So I packed up and left in a hurry.

And we still got stuck in Price.

I was pretty pissed.

Not that I could have done anything about it. But I was still pissed.

I told Tye that it was BS that I didnt have a vehicle with 4 wheel drive.

This is the only time since we have been married that I have not had it.

Before I had a Cherokee, and before that I had a truck.

So, I warned him that by the time that he gets home from the hunt (Which was about 6 days later) I would have purchased a new vehicle. One with 4 wheel drive.

So guess what I did.

I bought a 2007 4 door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited X.

Yep.

I am STOKED!!!

I bought it out of Arizona. So I dont have it yet. But I should have it by the end of the week.

I am so stinkin excited.

Anywhoooo....last night I got a tattoo.

Number 4.

I LOVE IT!! Its for Grace. She loves dragonflies.
I was so stoked when this one happened. I am pretty sure no one else has this on their body.

Then I found another one that I will be getting. It represents the love between a mother and her daughter.

Seriously awesome.

Funny Grace:

Today we were making gingerbread men to hang on our tree.

Well....I burned the last batch.

She looked in the oven before I could get to them and said, "Hey mom, you burned the little bastards...."

WHAT?

She looks at me like she is in trouble.....and says "I was going to say that I didnt think that was a bad word, since dad says it....but dad says alot of bad words. So its bad huh?"

My reply: "Bad enough that it shouldnt come out of the mouth of a 7 year old."

My stern/suprised looked didnt hang around long. It was too funny.

Later Skater

Alisa

This is not a pretty post.

So if you cant handle hearing about animals ACCIDENTALLY getting hurt, you may want to leave.

So yesterday was a yummy day.

Cold outside, warm inside. House clean (somewhat), Grace watching movies, and I am trying on a few sugar free/starch free thanksgiving recipes.

I had like 7 candles burning in the house. It smelled good.

It started snowing at about 4. It was nice. It was pretty.

Later I decided I needed to get a few things at the store. So Grace and I got in the car.

We went to the store, turned in all her change for a small fortune($112.00!!), got what I needed, and went back to the car.

HOLY HELL!

It snowed ALOT in the 45 minutes we were in the store. My car was covered.

Well, we start home.

I am passing the movie theater, and suddenly my car is all CLUNK-WHAP-CRACK-WHOMP-KUPLUNTH-KUBLUNK

WHAT THE..........????????!!!!!!!!!!

I slowed down.

I could not see out of my back window, because of the snow.

So, I look in my side mirror.

I could not see anything.

Then... I could see something (mind you, I am pulled over, and looking behind me with my side mirror)through the lights of the cars far off in the road. Limping.

Its a dog.

A big dog. A Lab or a Retreiver.

"OH NO" I yell.

Grace says "What Mom? WHAT?"

"I just totally hit a dog. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot." (PG version)

((Just a thought that entered my mind now.....why am I saving the PG version for you...those who choose to read this, adults...rather than being PG with my daughters 7 year old ears....THAT is an AH HA moment for me. I will do better. ))

Ahhhh....I need to go back and make sure it doesnt get hit again. Poor dog. DAMNIT!! Ugh.

Ok.

So, I turn around.

Going slow.

Snowing like CRAZY!!

I cant see well at all.

Where is it?

I dont see....CLUNK-CRACK-THUD-THUNK-WOMP.....

SHIT!

SHIT!

SHIT!

SHIT!

I JUST HIT THE DOG AGAIN!!!!

I AM NOT LYING!!

I went to go check on the dog that I hit, get it out of the road, see if it has tags, whatever I can do.....AND I HIT IT AGAIN!!!!

So I pulled over...AGAIN.

Rolled down my window. I cant see it.

I cant see it anywhere.

Then I call my husband and yell to him... "I JUST HIT A DOG.....TWO TIMES!!"

"What, you hit two dogs?!"

Now as bad as it is to hear about or to actually hit a dog....that may have sounded better....hitting 2 different dogs.

"NO, THE SAME FREAKING DOG"!!!!

Oy.

So then I look again, and I can see it lying in the road.

I tell Tye I am going to go see if it can get up. Then I look again, and no lie, it was gone.

Where the hell did it go?

Tye says, "Alisa, JUST GO HOME!!"

There was no way in hell I was going to turn back around on that road to go home.

So I went through the neighborhood.

I couldn't hit the dog 3 times!!!

So, I call Animal Control, and tell them about it. They said they would go out there.

Grace asked me if I was going to have to go to Dog Court and talk to Priest.

I think she meant Judge.

I was so afraid to go past there today and see fur or blood on the road this morning.

But there was none.

I am sorry doggy.

I love these girls

I just wanted to post some pictures of my sister and her cute girls.
I am so grateful for Anna.
Truly.
She is amazing.
Over the last couple of days the whole tasing incident has been in the news again.
And this is not over.
She is UH-MAZING.
I know I have posted it before, but she is truly one of the strongest, grounded and clear people in my life.
I know she doesnt feel that way all the time, but she really is.
I love her.
I love her a lot.

All you have to do is look at her or meet her, and you know what I am talking about.




I love this picture




I mentioned back in June that I needed to post some pictures of Ava (the cutest little pixie in the world)

Here she is...... Flashdancer.....








And of coarse, Baby Bella. I LOVE to snuggle her. She falls right asleep with her head nestled in my cleavage. :)






I just love these girls.

I was really wishing badly last night that I was with my sister in California and my parents house. I just wanted to be near her. Scratch her back. Rub her head.


Thats all.

-A

Looks like I felt like blogging....

I have not blogged for a LONG time. It seems that I have started the previous 2 entries with that statement......this seems to be my trend. Man, it's a good thing I dont get paid for this. 

So, I am sure that there are a ton-o-things that have happened that I could blog about, but nothing that is so exciting that it warrants the 5 pages it would take.

Lets see, I think I told you about Vegas and skinny dipping on the last entry. 

Then, the first week of October, I went to San Francisco to have a kick ass weekend with one of my favorite people. 

Emily

Have I told you that I love her? Cuz I do. She truly is one of my favoritistest people in the world.

So, I hop on a flight to SF. I get in at like 1 pm. Emily came in from Sacramento to get me. I was SO excited to see her and have an adventure with her. (She is ANYTHING but dull, count on a good time with her)

So, we head into the city. I mention to her "Really..... I am STARVING."

She agrees, she is hungry too.

She suggests a cool little Indian place. Take out, cash only.

So, after a few wrong left turns and right turns, we find it. 

SUWEET! Parking right in front of the place. (Parking in SF is a JOKE)

We are getting our stuff out of the car, I grab my wallet, click the lock to lock the door and we shut our doors.

Emily turns, just as her door is shutting...(in slow motion, it seems) "Noooo.....wwwaaaiiiittttt.....sssshhhhoooooootttt".

Yup, keys locked in the car.

Here I was, trying to be responsible, and just assumed that Emily wanted to lock her car in the big ole city of San Francisco.

Well, you know what they say about assume..... it makes and ASS out of U and ME. I think in this case, it only made the ass out of me.

Well, we decide to go in and get some food, and call a locksmith. 

Food: Hello Heaven...... I will have the lamb. 

YUMM-O (so sorry for the RR reference. Promise I will not say EVOO)

Em got the homemade cottage cheese with mango or something. 

Oh My! I just need to let her order my food for me from now on. 

Oh wait...no I dont. My sticky rise and mango will come short of the sweetened condensed milk and mango. (That is later)

So, we get a phone book, find Locksmith, and seriously call the first one that we see. 

He said that he can come for $75.00. 

"Nope", she says. "I can have my room mate come."

$50.00?

Ok, $50.00.

So we eat, and we wait. Its take out only. So where do we eat? Well, on the curb of Fulmer and 4th Avenue of coarse. And I literally mean THE CURB.

About 45 minutes later, they pull up. 

This small, quite little Asian man, and this LOUD, big Black guy.

(The following is just the truth and has NOTHING to do with Race, gender, religion, or sexual preference......its just what happened)

Here they come, we say hello. We point to the car and they get to work. 

The quiet little Asian guy (we will call him Bob) puts this balloon type of thing with a pump in between the window and the frame. He starts pumping it up to get some room between the frame and the window. 

So, as Bob is working on the window, the big, loud, black guy (We will call him Jay-Z) starts talking to us. He has seriously about 7 teeth....all in the back of his mouth. 

In reference to Emily watching her door shut, in slow motion, knowing that her keys were going to get locked in the car, Jay-Z starts telling us how he has the same experience, but with $300.00 and a toilet......

"Um...what?" I ask.

"How do you actually flush $300.00 down a toilet......on accident?"

"Well", he proceeds with his story.

"See, I had $300.00 cash on my table. Then, there was a knock on my door. I looked through the peep hole to see who it was. It was one of my friends. *But I didnt want this friend to know that I had $300.00. *So, I waded the money up in a bunch of napkins. We sat and talked for while. Then we decided we were hungry. So we ordered some delivery. We got done eating and my friend was getting ready to leave. I told him to wait, I wanted to clean up really quick. *So I grabbed all the napkins and I flushed the napkins down the toilet. And as they were heading down the toilet, swirling down the bowl....I remembered that I waded up the money into some of the napkins. I yelled 'Nooooooooooooooo' and tried to get my hands in there before they made it down the hole...but I was too late."

He must have noticed the very perplexed, and confused stare on my face.

He asked "What, you dont believe me?"

"Actually", I say "I just have a few questions"..... (See the * in the story above)

*1- Why do you have friends or anyone in your life that you dont want to know you have $300.00?

His response- You dont?  

Uh...No Jay-Z. I dont. 

*2- When you have money that you dont want out, why is your first thought NOT to put it in your pocket? Who thinks "Quick, hide the cash in some napkins?"

His response- "I didnt have any pockets."

K, not interested if he was wearing any pants or not....

*3-When cleaning up ones mess after dinner, WHO FLUSHES THE NAPKINS DOWN THE TOILET???? Did you eat in the bathroom??

His response- Uhhhhhh......

Yeah, that prally means you DID eat in the bathroom.....

I feel really good now that I understand how he can really relate to me and Em and the situation at hand. Truly.

In the mean time, Bob is having a really hard time with the window pumper and the stick he has trying to get the lock, unlocked.

So Jay-Z decides to step in.....and we have all just been made very aware how smart Jay-Z is....hand the job over to him.

He gets a slim jim. Ahhh yeah... the trusty ole Slim-Jim.

He shoves it down between the window and the door. 

Up and down, to the left, to the right....

TADA....unlocked.

So time to pay. Em hand him her card. His portable card charger is not working. He will not take a check, and I DID NOT want to give him cash. 

But....cash it is.

Ugh. So I give him $50.00. (This WAS, after all, my fault)

And away they go. 

We are off too.

So, you may be asking "Alisa, why didnt you want to give them cash?"

Well, I will tell you why.....About 3 hours later when we were heading to the park for the first evening of Hardly Strictly Blue Grass Emily tried rolling down her window. CLANK-SCRATCH-SCREETCH-CLONK. Yeah, not how a window should sound that ISNT effed up.

Then, when we go to park the car, she cant unlock her door. 

THIS is why I didnt want to pay them cash. CC transaction.....canceled. THAT easy!!

Anyway, Window and door still being difficult. And it took and act of God to get the grease from Jay-Z's face off her wind shield. Again, I only speak truth.

So we had a REALLY good time at the bluegrass festival.

This is Lyle Lovett and his Big Church Band..

Oh, how I love Lyle Lovett. He is so not sexy, but his voice is. 

Time to head out. We will be back on Saturday and Sunday for some more music festival.....and  some serious contact high....

We were hungry again. We passed an Ethiopian place. Mmmmm..... but again, parking. 

So Em pulls up to a Pizza by the Slice place. I hop out and get 2 slices of Pesto pizza with Garlic and Feta cheese. OMG!!

We drive a few streets over until we find somewhere to park and eat.

We are eating, talking and laughing. Then Em tells me, "man, I have got to pee soooooo bad. Seriously, I cant hold it."

She looks around...."I will just pee next to the car...IN THE GUTTER.."

"WHAT?" I ask.

"Serious Alisa, I bet so many people have peed in this gutter..."

Do I NEED to point out the obvious in this statement? The part that screams DONT PEE IN THE GUTTER!!!

No matter. Em will do what she needs to do. 

So I say "At least open the back door so you have some sort of cubicle..."

Bravo Alisa...Bravo!

She has to wait a few seconds for people who DONT pee in the gutters to walk by. Then before I know it, pants down, Em squatting in the gutter. Peed, up, pants on, buttoned, done! And not a moment too soon. 

"Hello passer-byers.....lovely night, isnt it?"

Then I look about 25 feet up the street....."Um, Em....that looks like a porta-potty."

So it is.

But that doesnt give one the same experience as peeing in the gutter. 

So the next day was a FULL day of music, running from stage to stage, yummy food and sun. 

What a GREAT day.

Just so you know, this is not a relaxing day. There are 4 stages that we are trying to get to and from. We have our blankets set out at each stage to save our place.

But all the heat, the fighting the crowds, the walking, walking, walking......all of it was worth it, just for this video....

Seriously, this kid was SO funny!!!

The next morning, I woke up SO tired, sore and sun burned.

I BEGGED Em, PLEASE dont make me go all day long. 

Lets see some other parts of San Francisco. This was only my second time there 

So we decided to head somewhere outside of the city to get some breakfast. We ended up in Sausalito. 

Then, as if it were meant to be, we found a really quaint and cute breakfast place. 

When we were seated, we were seated with 2 other couples. None of us knew each other. We started talking with the sweetest older couple from Chicago. We laughed, told stories, guessed each others ages, and talked about how the wife (cant remember her name) was a wino. And Stewart.....or was it Douglas?...finally got it right with his 3rd wife (the one sitting at the table).

It was such a great morning. 

Then we decided to head to The Muir Woods Redwood Forest. 

These redwoods are HUGE!!

Did you know that they cant get diseased? Pretty crazy.

This picture was so against the rules.....

We were so ready to come upon a little hobbit village within one of the trees.

Now, these were not the "Drive your RV through the Tree" Redwoods...but they were HUGE!!

Then later that evening, we went back to watch a couple of shows. Neko Case was great.

I think that my favorite was Gillian Welch, especially when Emmylou Harris came on stage with her. 

The biggest bummer is when we missed Robert Plant with Emmylou Harris and Buddy Miller. 

And dont think that we ended the weekend with out Emily peeing in public again. Oh no..... not just in a gutter this time.....in someones FRONT YARD!

Em...I think you need to get that checked out. :)

So......that is the most exciting thing that has happened since October 1st.

Oh, and I jumped on the HCG wagon.

30 days, 30 pounds. 

Its good.

All I have is some before and mid-way-through bra and undies pictures....so, no, you cant see them.

I am going to go snuggle my girl and watch The Simpsons.

Bye Bye

-A

I cant make this stuff up.....

On one hand, I sort of feel like I should apologize for not blogging in SO LONG!
But on the other hand (my left) I don't. Since I only have a handful of followers.
At any rate....I am blogging now.
Man, I feel like so much has happened in the last month and a half....Oh wait....A TON HAS HAPPENED!!

Now, what I am about to write will not be in the order of which they happened.

THE MOST EXCITING!!!

Baby Bella is here!
Man, we have been waiting for her.
She is ADORABLE!
So let me just say this. I love my sister so deeply. Anna is my hero. To some extent, she always has been. Many, many reasons.
Can I just tell you, that she brought this angel into our world all-nachur-al..??!! ( I know that is not how it is spelled...but it should be)
She was UH-MAZING!
Check into the hospital at 7:30 a.m. Light contractions. Little bit-o pit. Progress a little bit more.
Break the water. YOWZAS! Take off the pit. More contractions...the really hurty kind.
What a wonderful bonding experience it was for me to assist her and coach her in the process.
Remember to breath....in deep, out like blowing up a balloon...concentrate......keep pace....don't hold it.....make it audible.....you are doing great..... (Lights low, and the comforting music of her brother in law Paul Cardall)
She had to deal with A LOT of stinky breath.
At one point, I had Kristin take my place so she could help her out too.
I went and had some chips and guac. (NOT a good idea)
Then back over to help with the breathing....first big exhale in poor Anna's face...."WHO JUST ATE???!!!" says Anna.
"So sorry....I'm outta here" I say.
Erin is to my rescue with Tic Tacs to which Anna says "Everyone needs them...."
We ate them all.
Nurse....she feels as though she wants to push.
Onto the bed....check. You are ready sister. Time to have baby.
Here comes Dr. (who by the way was WAY better than my Dr that was found under a bridge somewhere, I am sure)
K sister, push.
Once
Twice
Three times
and
Four....SHES HERE!!

I am the proudest Auntie and Sister.
So amazing.

Bella Aspen Cardall
Born: September 16, 2009 at 5:36 p.m.
7 Lbs 2 Oz
18 inches long

She has her daddy's chin and mouth.
Thank you B!

Her sister L-O-V-E-S her!! I have pics, and will post them later tonight.
She loves to hold her and giver her Eskimo kisses.


Ok, here is another UH-MAZING Story!

Anna's brother in law, Paul Cardall had been on the heart transplant list for over a year. In August, he moved into the hospital.
Well, on September 9th, he got his new heart.
What an amazing thing.
He has been such an inspiration to so many people who he knows, and those that he has never met.
September 9th was such a roller coaster day for me.
It was also the 3 month anniversary of Brian's death.
How amazing that on that day, the brother that Brian has loved so fiercely his entire life and beyond, gets his life.
Brian has been working so hard over there.
I believe that.
I know it.
I am so happy for Paul's family. Mostly for his wife Lynette and their little daughter Eden.


Now....
On September 5th, we celebrated my Dad's 70th birthday.
I can not believe that my Dad is 70!
Tye and I got to put together a video for him with pictures of him through out his life.
What an honor.
As we worked on it until 2 in the morning and watched it, it really hit me.
I was having a really hard time with this.
Tye and I could not help crying through this video.
And not just the one time.
Every time we watched it. We had tears.
I realized how thankful I am for my dad.
He has ALWAYS been the hardest worker I have ever known.
He is 70, and only now is slowing down cuz the Dr. told him to.
And his "slow down" is double what a normal person would do.
He is the bestest Dad in the world and he has taught me invaluable, life long lessons.
I love you Dad!


On September 11th, I flew into Vegas for a girls weekend.
Me, Joni, Nancy, McKell, Sonnie, Megan and Elizabeth celebrated Joni's 40th Birthday!
It was so freakin sweet!!
Jayson and Pam Orvis are so gracious. SO SO SO GRACIOUS. It blows my mind.
They let us stay in their beautiful home.
And it was perfect.
Our days were filled with talking, eating, and floating in the pool.
It was such a wonderful way to celebrate Joni!
Thank you to the women that came and most thanks to Jayson and Pam.


Oh man!!
I NEED to tell you my "Violation of my purple circle of personal space at the Brandi Carlile concert story"......
But I really don't think that I can convey it appropriately in text. It must either be in person, or on the phone.

Really, you want to hear this.

So call me!!


And finally, a Grace story....

Grace is in tumbling. She has been for a few years. She LOVES it.
There is a girl in her class that she does NOT like.
Her name is Naomi, and I gotta tell ya, she is pretty annoying. And I don't mind saying so.
So as we were leaving tumbling yesterday, she asks me and Tye if she should tell Naomi how she feels about her.
I say, "Well, hun, I think you should just let yourself know. No one likes to be told that someone doesn't like them"....
To which she says....."Oh...No mom...I don't 'Not like' her.... I HATE HER! She is my ARCH ENEMY....."

I might add that she contains her enmity well.....


XOXOXO

Alisa

My connection to the MOB and other things.....

I have not blogged for a while. 

No excuses. 

Just havent. 

At first I wondered "Does anyone even read these?"

But then I thought..... "I dont know that I care if they do."

Yeah, truth is, most of the reason that I post anything is because I just want to write something. 

And there IS the other part of, I hope people read it and take something from it. 

Whether it is new music (YAY!) or a laugh, or a new way of thinking. 

Or maybe just seeing into me a little more when I hurt. 

Anyway.

Tye is in Hawaii. YAY for him. He has an amazing job. Yes, He is in Hawaii for his JOB. He is on the island of Lanai, he is SCUBA diving, and on a boat in the middle of the ocean. AND THIS IS HIS JOB!! Man, we really are blessed for him to have the job that he has. To work for the man that he does. Not only because he gets to do amazing things, but his "employer" loves him and values him. I am happy for him when he gets to go do amazing things and it is "work".

BUT, I miss him. 

This trip has been harder than the others . (He has been on many)

This is the first trip since Brian died. And I find myself thinking "This is what it would be like everyday with him gone".

Now, dont get me wrong, I do not and will not claim to know what Anna is going through, simply because my husband is out of town. I dont. I dont ever want to. 

But it still takes me to a sad place. 

Last Monday, I slept at my moms house with Anna so I could go with her to her Drs. appointment. 

Anna and I laid in her bed after Ava had gone to sleep. We talked about Brian, we talked about how to move forward, we talked about her dreams.

Man, this hurts. 

I couldn't do anything for my sweet sister as she was crying, telling me that she REALLY wishes that she could just be in a coma. To please, wake her up when I think the hurt might not be so big. When I think she may be able to breathe deeper. 

All I could do is rub her head, let her cry, and tell her what I absolutely know to be one of the truest things I know....."Anna, you can do this...." 

And it is so true.

Anna, you can do this. I love you!

On Saturday night, my sister Erin came up to my house to be with Grace while I went to a friends birthday party. 

Erin is such a great aunt! She is such a great sister!

She took Grace to go see Ice Age the Dawn of the Dinosaurs.......brave girl. 

WHAT A SNOOZER!! 

Yes, Grace and I have already seen it. Grace LOVES it and wanted to see it again. But I was NOT willing to go see it again. So Erin got the job. But she actually liked it. 

She slept in my bed with me. And I slept like S%&T!! I had stressful dreams that seemed so surface. I dont feel like I slept at all. I wondered if Erin had slept at all cuz she was sleeping so quietly. She got up at about 415 to go potty and get a drink of water. 

When she got back into bed, I asked her if she had slept. She had! I am glad!. But then we stayed awake and talked until about 6 or so. Then we both went back to sleep. the net 3 1/2 hours of sleep I got was SO MUCH better than the previous 4. 

It was fun to have her here. 

So the birthday celebration for Megan on Saturday was nice. It was at Olivia and Wendy's house in Centerville. It was really nice. Beautiful back yard and wonderful company.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN! I love you and I am grateful for you!

Ok, so a funny Grace story......

A few weeks ago, Grace and I were on our way to school. We were pulling into the gas station and Grace said (in a small, shy voice)

-"Mom.....I have been hiding something from you..."

**Well, ok honey, seems like you want to tell me about it. What is it?

-"Awwww....I dont want to tell you...I am afraid I will get into trouble..."

I tell her that I will never get angry at her for telling me the truth. 

BUT that doesnt mean that there will not be consequences for her actions. 

(Depending on what she is telling on herself about)

She musters up the courage and says.....

-"So, there is this girl Mary at our school......and, there was this one day that she said something that I didnt like......but I dont remember what it was...."

**Ok, I say. Then what happened?

-"Oh mom" she says "I am not proud of it...."

**Well, go ahead and tell me.

-"Well, I got mad at what she said.......so......."

**Yeah?

-"I yelled at the other kids...'GET MARY!!!!!!'.." (As she shoves her fist in the air)

**WHAT?

**What did the other kids do when you "commanded" them to "Get Mary"?

-"They all ran up to her and started kicking her, pinching her and hitting her...."

Uhhhhhhhh........

**Grace, what were you doing as they "Got Mary"?

-"I watched them."

**You didnt join them?

-"No, just watched them"

Uh....ok.....So......do you feel bad about goin all Soprano's on Mary's ass?

Ok, so I didnt ask her in THAT way.....

I asked 

**Why do you think it was ok to tell all those kids to hurt Mary?

-"I dont think it is ok mom. I feel really bad".

**Well, Grace, just imagine if Mary did that to you. And all the kids "got" you. I can imagine that you would come home, probably cry in my arms asking me 'mom, why dont they like me, how come they treated me like this...whats wrong with me?'

And I would hold you and tell you that I love you and that I am sorry that other people feel like they needed to treat you so poorly. But you are an amazing little girl.

-"ugh....mom.....I really do feel bad...."

**Well, I guess today you get to make it right with her. You can apologize to her at school today.

-"No i cant.....she moved to Arizona...."

**Well, I guess you can write her a letter. I will make sure that it gets to her. How old is Mary anyway?

-12

**12????!!!!!!

**You got a bunch of kids from 6-11 to get all Guido on a 12 year old....and you sat and watched....?????!!!!!

Well, she is a leader....not a follower....I guess I like that. I am not a follower either...not when it doesnt work for me. And her dad certainly isnt either. 

We just need to direct this "leadership" in a more productive, less mob fashion.

Cross my fingers.

Whats in my head.....

Ok.

I seriously would marry this song and make babies with it if I could. 

I LOVE IT!!!

Here are the lyrics and it is the first one on my playlist.

Give it a listen. If you love me, you will. (I am aware of manipulation tactics)

There are actually 2 different songs on the one track, but just listen to first one.

Well, you can listen to both. 

But I am not in love with the second one like I am with this one. 

THIS is why I love Brandi Carlile

Again Today-

Broken sticks and broken stones
Will turn to dust just like our bones
It's words that hurt the most now isn't it
Are you sad inside, are you home alone
If I could just pick up the phone
Maybe you could see a better day
And you won't waste away
under my watchful eye
Because I'm your hero and you're my weakness

Who's gonna break my fall
When the spinning starts
The colors bleed together and fade
Was it ever there at all
Or have I lost my way
The path of least resistance
Is catching up with me again today

-----I LOVE THIS PART-----

****I'm broken down, not good enough
The broken promises add up
To twice their weight in tears which I have caused****

I'm afraid to sink, I'm afraid to swim
I'm sad to say I miss my friends
I know that I'm supposed to step away
But they need me to stay and keep a watchful eye
On all my heroes and all their demons

But who's gonna break my fall
When the spinning starts
The colors bleed together and fade
Was it ever there at all
Or have I lost my way
The path of least resistance
Is catching up with me again
Not today
Not today

Was it ever there at all
And have I lost my way
The path of least resistance
Is catching up with me again today

Broken sticks and broken stones
Will turn to dust just like our bones again today
I'm broken down
Not good enough
The broken promises add up again today

Was it ever there at all
And have I lost my way
The path of least resistance
Is catching up with me again today
Again today 

ISNT THAT FREAKING AWESOME????

K, this next song (and the second one on my playlist as well) is the reason why I ever fell in love with Brandi. I have history with this song and represents someone very particular. 

Long is the day, take it away
Hold it up and you don't let it fall
Cause devils play, was yesterday
And I don't care about that at all

I just smile, once in a while
Because I don't want the lines on my face
I sit right here, holding the years
And I count all the stars in space

You fall apart again and you can find a friend
Don't turn to someone else because they won't understand...

Self respect, goes unexpressed
I don't dream because I cannot sleep
And I think the world of myself
But the world doesn't think much of me
***FAVORITE PART IN THE SONG***
As long as the day is full of time, there will always be room
for your hand in mine

You fall apart again and you can't find a friend
Don't turn to someone else because they won't understand
I don't want to hear
You say that you miss yesterday
If you don't like what you see
That means nothing to me

****Kick ass Guitar time******

No one's home I'm alone with my music and my tv
And I still say that yesterday is best when left to sleep

You fall apart again and you can't find a friend
Don't turn to someone else because they won't understand
I don't want to hear
You say that you miss yesterday
If you don't like what you see
That means nothing to me 

OH MAN!!! I just LOVE Brandi! Listen to her other stuff on here. She is AMAZING!!!!

Whew! 

-Alisa

Confessions of the 3rd kind......

Ready.....set......go!

1- Last night I made Tilapia with broccoli, green beans and green onions. I made a great conscious effort in eating healthy. And, it was good! I LOVE TO EAT HEALTHY! So....what did I have for lunch?? Oy.....(bowing my head and shaking it in shame....I cant even look at you.) Del Taco. DEL TACO IS NASTY!! But I still had a fish taco, a hard taco and a soft taco. And now, it is in the bottom of my belly laughing and pointing at me calling me a looser and a sucker. I shake my fist at you nasty food!!

2- I was supposed to get us packed for Island Park last night. We are leaving today. Grace was going to help me and I was going to further teach her about responsibility and team work. The way it played out in my head was so great!! But, since these are confessions..... I know you smart little cookies can guess that did not happen.
Nope, it didn't. I folded one load of laundry, layed on the couch and watched "Hes just not that in to you". You would think that I would encourage my girl to go outside and ride her scooter or go see if her friends can play. But I didn't. She asked if she could watch Twilight in my room.....my answer....Yes. Rot your brain with the fantasy of a sexy vampire that puts all the human men to shame. Oh, your 7 year old brain..... Yeah, I am making my nomination for mother of the year award really easy....

3-As I was watching "He's Just Not That In To You", a lllliiiiiiiitttttllllllleeee bit of drool escaped from the corner of my mouth any time Ben Affleck came onto the screen. And I even shushed my husband when it shows Ben washing the dishes. I really wish I was lying.

4- I cant air this one....it is too embarrassing.

5-My girls room is a complete disaster.

6-I have no desire to change that in the near future.

7-I am the one that drank all of the Orange Fanta that was in the fridge. Its gone, so move on already!!

8-I wish I was more like Emily.

9-I am as straight as a fence post, but Brandi Carlile is HOT!

10-It will be a while before I do "That" again. (No, you aren't supposed to know what I am talking about)

On a more tender note.

I came across an article about this company. Check out the website. Some people think it is morbid. But as you read the thoughts of the photographers and the parents, it is so touching.

PRESS ME RIGHT HERE



Have a fabulous weekend!

-Adidaloysee

Is this thing on...??

Migraines.....I dot get them much. And when I do, I can generally intercept them in time. It starts with a little twinge in my vision. If I can get something into my system then, then I should be ok.

Today was different.

But, what matters is it is gone now. Whew!

So, did I ever tell you how funny Grace is? If you know her, you may have an idea. Even if you don't, you may have an idea through someone who does.

We kind of having a running joke in our little family because of a comment Grace made late one night.

Grace and I sometimes have "Sleep overs". It is when she sleeps on her floor and I sleep on her bed. Well, one night we were having one of these. She has the glow in the dark stars on her ceiling and a lava lamp in her room (among LOADS of toys she never uses, but clutter the floor). So the soft light coming from the two was nice.

I cant even remember what I was thinking, but it was something that I thought was funny. 

So I ask Grace as I am looking up at the ceiling.... "Grace, ya know what's funny?" (With a chuckle)

And with out skipping a beat and no emotion on her face, or in her voice, what-so-ever, she replies.............

"Midgets"


I laughed and laughed and laughed.
Grace? Well, she sat there, still, no emotion on her face. More like she was pondering the question and then her answer.

So, to this day, whenever Grace asks me or Tye. "Hey, know what's funny?"..... Yup....."MIDGETS" we say.

K, I am super excited about the end result of this:

On Monday evening as we were eating a fabulous gourmet dinner of Hot Dogs and BBQ beans, our doorbell rang. Well, it was one of two people. Graces friend that is our neighbor, or our neighbor that we lovingly call Grandpa, from across the street. 

I answer the door.....neither.

It was a cute younger boy....say 18 or so. He was wondering if we wanted to try their dairy home delivery. 

Well, let me tell you.....I have been wanting to do this forever!! But apparently, it is WAY more inconvenient for me to call them up than it is for me to go to freaking Wal-Mart 3 times a week. I know you feel me.

Anyway, this was for a dairy that is out of Morgan. A small family owned business. I like that idea and I am willing to buy what you are selling. Plus, it is all organic!

So, after I gave him the complicated order of:

 1/2 Gallon of 1% and 1/2 gallon of 2 % every other week, a dozen eggs every other week, but not on the same week of the milk, 2 lb bag of shredded cheese once a month, and a 1 lb block of colby jack once a month, but not on the same week of the shredded cheese or the eggs....

My husband offered him a hot dog. 

He paused for about 1/2 second and replied- " I would love a hot dog...." 

Quite honestly, I was waiting for him to say "But I cant accept food from a kind and gracious client"..... Or... "But I really have to get going...."

He continued with "I have been doing this for 2 years, and no one has ever even offered me a drink!" Well, my dear, The Boulters arent "no one" :)

I was so happy that he accepted our offer for a hot dog. My husband is pretty cute. Actually, he is pretty smokin' hot.

So, we get him his hot dog, and he says he can go get a 1/2 gallon of milk for us to sample for $1.00. Ok. Sounds great. "Have you any chocolate milk?" I ask. (Well, not just like that)

"yeah, I will get you some of that too"

So he comes back with those and I notice that there is another boy in the milk van. 

I ask our new little friend if the other one would like a hot dog as well.

He yells across the street to him, he gets out and starts walking over. 

"Yes", he says. "I would love one."

Then I got his order.

Mayo, Ketchup, Mustard, Cheese, Onion and Tomato.

Oh La la....a man after my own hot Dog heart. That is EXACTLY how I like them.

So I go into my kitchen to get him one....

Problem- The hot dogs that we cooked are gone....

Solution- There are more in the fridge and the grill takes only a minute.

I just told him that I was reheating it on the grill

Then, I went for the hot dog buns.....

Problem- There were no more in the bag!!!

Solution- Used the one that dropped on the floor. IT WAS ONLY FOR 3 SECONDS!! I COUNTED!! However, with everything that I was putting on the hot dog, he would be none the wiser....

So I get the hot dog ready for him and take it to him. And he was so grateful, and so smiley.

They were such cute young men. Really. Actually, the second one was kinda hot. And he even had braces!! I bet he was about 22 or 23...... which means when I was his age...he was..... 9 or 10..!!! Ew, Ew, EW!!....Nevermind......no hotness there. 

I just have cute little milk men now. 

-Alisa



** This is in no way is meant to be insensitive to little people, or milkmen, or little people that are milkmen. So if you choose to be offended, ok."**

P.S.- I decided that I HATE Phineus and Pherb WAY more than I hate Spongebob.

K. I hope this doesn't make me a stalker.
I really dont want to be.
But this is the story.
We all know Mimi Rogers. Well, except for those of you who don't.
I knew Mimi and her family many many years ago while I lived in South Jordan with my family. I went to high school with her brother Jake. My brother Matt was cute friends with her brother Sam and my brother Erik was friends with her brother....shoot...I cant remember his name! Younger than Jake, older than Sam....am I totally off here? FOUND IT! Pete!! Or was it the other way around? I cant remember. It WAS 14 years ago since I lived there last. Sheesh! GET OFF ME! :)

So I am rambling.

Anyway, through Mimi, I have been following her sister in laws blog. She is married to Jake. She has no clue who I am. Not at all. But I love her blog.
She is super funny, super gorgeous, and seems like a genuine person.
Anyway, I am just posting this on here because I really dig her blog, and I think you will too. So I think you should look at it. :)

http://www.reagansblob.com/

Bye Bye

-A

Stories of Italy and Greece

OK. Let's make things lighter. Funny. Maybe a little embarassing. (Not for ME, oh, no way!!) Time for some traveling stories....... (Dont worry Analee and Emily, I will change your names.) Oh, and before I start, can I just say that I LOVE BRANDI CARLILE!!! You bet I can, this is MY blog. :) If you are not aware of who I speak of, look her up. She kick ass 100%!
ANYWHO..........
I had such an amazing time in Italy and Greece. And everytime I take a minute, or and hour to reflect on it, it gets better and better. The people, the smells, the scenery, the trains, the fireflies (only a few, but they were magical at just the right time.) So for those of you who dont know, Analee, Emily (Analees niece) and I decided to tale a trek to Italy and Greece in May.

This is Emily :)

She is very quickly becoming one of my favorite people.

I told the back story to how we decided to go on our trip on a previous post, so look at it. Analee and I flew into Spain first. We were there for one night. Honestly, Spain looks like Duchesne. No lie.

From there we flew to Rome. We were going to head on in to Orvieto, but Emily was not going to be in until the next day. So we stayed in Rome for a night. We went to see Vadican City and The Sistine Chapel. All wonderful sites. However, it was an uncommon and heavy 105 degrees in Rome that day. UGH!!! But worth it. Oh, AND I saw a celebrity.....twice!! Not two different ones, the same one, two different times. Who is a Big Love fan? I AM!! Ya know Margene? Yeah, I saw her!! Ginifer Godwin. I saw her when we were going into The Sistine Chapel, and then the next day in the train station while I was standing infront of McDonalds waiting for Em. I tried to take a picture without looking obvious. She was with some guy that I did not think was good looking at all. I was going to get behind her in the McDonalds line and softly say "Hi Margene.....does Bill know you are here with that man???" But who am I kidding, I talk WAY more daring than I actually DO. So I just let her be her without any crazy people making dumb ass comments.

So off to Orvieto we went. I have to say that this was my FAVORITE place. We were only there for one night. But it was so neat. When I close my eyes and think of Italy, this is the place. Small, Old, quaint, cobble stone streets (they all have cobblestone streets) and the most amazing Duomo. (Cathedral)
Now, when Analee and I visited The Sistine Chapel, it was nice. It was cool. We can say that we have seen it now. But they cram hundreds of people in there all at once. And in addition to all of the good things it is, it is also smelly, loud, and crowded. So that really took from the experience. Really, it was Eh. BUT, this Duomo in Orvieto was AMAZING!

We went in there and it took my breath away. There was only 3 other people in there (And it was ALOT bigger than The Sistine Chapel) It was so reverent. You would think twice about even breathing too hard. I felt so much honor and respect for the people that had such strong beliefs and convictions that they spend an unheard of amount of years building this amazing building. The black and white marble, the beautiful stained glass windows, and of coarse the friscos on the ceiling and that walls. All of it so amazing. For the most part I wandered in silence and in awe. However, there was one thing that made me chuckle. I watched a guy come in, and go over to the where the holy water should be. There was none. So he walked over to this red 5 gallon bucket that was next to a mop. I am pretty sure that it was mopping water ready to be used, or already used. Anyway, he walked over to it with out a thought, dipped his index finger and ring finger in it, crossed himself, clasped his hands together and a quick up and down on one knee. He just used the cleaning water to cross himself. I dont care where you are or who you are, THAT deserves a chuckle.




Anyway, hopefully I can get Em to post some pictures of Orvieto, cuz I had no camera. "Why"? you ask? Well, you see, we hopped on the train from Rome to Orvieto. It was a couple of hours train ride. When we finally got there, we hopped out of the train, got into the train station, and as soon as the train pulled away, I start patting down my own body, because I KNEW that I had forgotten something. Yep. I sure did.....MY FREAKING PURSE!! It was on the train. Luckily I had given my passport to Analee to hold while we were on the train. And I had my wallet in my pocket. So what I was losing was my IPod, a few books, and my camera. BUT, it was not MY camera. It was my good friend Erika's camera. So we walked over to the ticket window and Emily told the agent in the best Italian that she could, that her dumb ass cousin left her purse on the train. The ticket agent said she would see what she could do. But this train had a final destination of Milan. I let go of the idea of getting it back about 10 minutes after I lost it. I will just have to buy Erika a new camera.

SO, that is why I dont have any pictures of Orvieto. "But Alisa" you may be thinking "You have pictures of destinations AFTER Orvieto....but How?" Well, my little peanut, I will tell you how. A Miracle. That is how. But you will have to wait to hear about the miracle. (And this was NOT the only one on the trip.)

****WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT**** EMILY EMAILED ME PICTURES!!! So I will insert them in the story!!

So, we go get on the the tram type of thingy. It takes us up to the top of this hill where Orvieto is. Then from there we get on a little bus that takes us up further. Orvieto is....up. We got off the bus that takes us right in front of the Duomo. Now, trying to find an address in Italy is hard enough, but a small town like Orvieto, not easy. I know, I know, you are thinking, "But it is a SMALL town, how hard can it be?" Just trust me, not cake. So we wander through the small and narrow back allies. They are so enchanting.

So beautiful. Everything is so old. And we think it is amazing when we have a building that is preserved for 100 years. Well, try 800 years!!! Seriously. It is amazing. They dont tear anything down. They use it and use it and use it. There is a lesson there. So we finally make it to our place.
It only took about an hour of wandering. And it was a good wondering. So much to see. Our place felt like it was built into a cave. I thought it was groovy. It was a musty smell. An old smell. A smell of history. So we dumped our stuff off to wander and experience Orvieto. This is a place that people come for day trips. So dont get me wrong, there are tourists, but it is not like Rome. Hell it isnt like Sienna. It is small. You bet we got Gelato. Went to the Duomo, looked through some shops. Then went to a pizza place that Em LOVES. (She spent a summer in Orvieto one year). Now, let me tell you about the pizza in Orvieto. Well, in all of Italy it is different. It is not a heavy food like it is here. Fewer ingredients and FRESH FRESH FRESH!! The sauce is simple and not at all how we do it. It is so good! However, the size of these pizzas at this place......HUGE!! We had no idea that they would be twice the size of our heads. I got the caprese pizza. No sauce. Just Olive oil, Mozzerella, Basil and tomatoes. It was SO good! We sat outside, and overlooked the country. The mood there was so chill. I fell in love, quick and hard.




The next day we went up for breakfast with a few other people who where renting places from the same woman. Very nice people. One couple from Australia and one from Virgina. Both SUPER nice couples. The one from Virgina, Ralph and.....I cant remember her name, they have come to Orvieto on vacation for the last 6 years. They love it that much. After breakfast in our PJ's and crazy hair (Everyone else was dressed and primped....hahaha, we are the lazy Americans) we wandered more. When it was time to leave and catch our train, we got down to the train station and just asked the ticket agent...just in case my purse was found. The two male ticket agents had NO idea what we were talking about. Oh well, like I said, I let go of it 10 minutes after I realized I didnt have it. So we were outside waiting for our train, and this nice looking older gentleman came up to us and between his broken English and Emily's broken Italian, he let us know that my purse was at the next stop. SHUT UP!! So we thanked him and got on the train. We got off, went to the ticket counter and asked them if they had it. We were greeted with blank stares and shrugged shoulders. Then one guy said to check the police station. It was just right behind them. Sure enough, there it was. And everything was still there. Nothing had even shifted. WHEW!!! So THAT, my little peanuts, is the Miracle and the reason why I have no pictures of Orvieto. Ok. Now, eventually I will tell you about Sienna in detail. I will give you this- Sienna is beautiful, full of history, and some asshole waiters. I loved our two nights in Sienna.



I loved talking on the steps of the Duomo with Analee and Emily at 2 in the morning.

But I dont want to go through all the detail right now. I am developing Carpal Tunnel. From Sienna we went on to Cinque Terre. SO different from Orvieto or Sienna. Completely!! Right on the coast. 5 coastal towns. All so beautiful. Well, I imagine that Corniglia is beautiful, we never saw it. Only passed through on the train. We stayed in a 3 bedroom apartment in Riomiggore. It was SO cheap!! We had the place to ourselves and it cost 30 Euro per person per night. SERIOUSLY!!! This is where the other miracle happened. It was out last night there, we were walking up to our apartment that was not far from the train station, but was freaking vertical from it. We were hiking our asses up the road and I stopped. "STOP! WAIT!! THERE IS A FIREFLY!! WAIT, TWO... THREE.... FOUR!!" Now, let me tell you why this was a miracle. About an hour earlier, I had mentioned that the ONLY thing that could make this time MORE magical would be Fireflies. Fireflies are magical to me. They are enchanting. I love, love, love them. And we had not seen ANY on this trip. But, there they were, to make my time magical, just like I said. We looked around and there were a few more up the hill in some trees and bushes. But that was it. We never saw any more while we were there. It was AWESOME!!!
And, A picture of Cinque Terre.......

From Cinque Terre, we moved on to Milan. Only because we were flying out of Milan to Greece. We found our hostel, which was looking like it was down this scary alley that had about a dozen "Sexy Shops". Whew, it wasnt there. HOWEVER, when we did find it, it didnt have any AC and our window shared the same space of the busy, loud intersection. We then hopped the Metro to go see the Duomo. This one was AMAZING. It took 500 years to complete. Can you imagine it? We got there too late to go in or to go to the top. But the outside was amazing enough. And can you believe that there was not a camera between the three of us? Duh! You will just have to trust me on the awesomness of the Duomo. Then we wandered around the streets to find this resturant that Em went to last time she was there. She wanted to get the amazing pasta again. And, we found it! And of course she picked up a boyfriend while we there. Her "bed bug" and he called himself. It was funny.

Off to Greece we go. Landed in Athens, took the X96 to the port. Found the counter for our ferry company, got our tickets and we were told we needed to get to Port E2. We were at Port E8. Alright, 6 ports....we can walk that. Well, the ticket agent said, "No, you will want to take a bus." Well, we didnt listen. We started walking and walking and walking and walking and walking.....HOLY HELL!!! We were only at Port E6!!! TAXI!!!! Well... hello.... we get a taxi that is being driven by a VERY VERY beautiful man. We told him we needed to get to Port E2 and FAST! And FAST is what he did. Seriously, he was going on the wrong side of the road to get us there quicker. I cant remember his name, but I really appreciated his "Fastness" and his beautiful warm chocolate brown eyes, his perfect lips, his beautiful dark skin and I had to appreciate his red pants. I am not sure why, but in Europe, men cant help but to wear Red, orange, and fucia pants. No lie. But when you look like our Greek God cabbie (Even though he didnt look Greek at all) you can wear whatever you want. Or nothing at all....wait, that is later in the story. (But NOT about a Greek God) We got to our Ferry on time. WHEW! They were already boarding. And this was the last one from the port that night. So we were ready for our 5 hour Ferry ride to Naxos. It went by fast. Here are a few pictures....

This is the BEST picture of Athens. Wanna know why? Because it is getting further and further away. I DID NOT LIKE ATHENS!!!

But then I got to take this picture....

This is the sunset on the Ferry from Athens to Naxos.....So AWESOME!!!

So, we get to Naxos at 1 a.m.! And we are greeted by the guy that runs the place we are staying. Pension Sofi is the name of the place, and this guys wife's name is Rena, but I cant remember his name. But it sounded like Thor. So that is what we decided to call him. Thor. So, we were warmly greeted by Thor. He took us to our place, got us all set up and told us to please let them know if we need anything! He meant it too. So we got there in the dark. It was hard to see the island. We would have to wait until morning. No problem! We were "bushed". (as Em would put it) So, wanna see what we got to wake up to and look at every day?
THIS!

Seriously! Then we would go down to the dock, and eat outside. YUMMY FOOD!!!

Some places to eat on the dock.....

Then we would go to the beach. Now, Naxos is a huge exporter of marble. They have marble quarry's up in the hills. They are pretty spectacular. But that makes it so the beaches are marble pebble beaches. They are SO beautiful!!! This picture doesnt do it justice, but it is what I have.

And another one....

And that is how clear the water is. Bath water. So awesome!!

How about this picture?

This doorway was built with a church originally. Then they (The Greeks) tore it down and built a temple. They kept the doorway. Then, they tore down the temple piece by piece because they needed the marble. But they left the door up. They now say that this is a portal to another world. All I can say is that the place it is in, absolutely seems like another world. Here, look at this picture of it at sunset.

I believe that is is a magic portal. I just didnt get the chance to walk through it. They have it chained off. Now, how can they make the claim that it is a a portal to another world, but not let you test it out? Believe me, if it were in ANY other place, I would call BS! But, since it IS in Greece, I choose to believe.

Anyway, so lets start my marble pebble beach story.

So, one of the days we were there, we decided to rent a car and explore the island. K, let me tell you how easy Greece is. So, we go to the car rental office on the dock and we tell them that we want to rent a car tomorrow. "Ok, 25 Euro" she says. Ok, when do we pay. "Oh, not now. Pay tomorrow when you get car." Uh, ok. No problem. Where do we get the car? "Where you stay?" We tell her. "You get car to your place of sleep tomorrow. We bring to you. You pay lady then." Uh Ok. So what you are telling me is that it is cheap to rent a car AND you will bring it to us? HELL YEAH! So, when do we need to return it and where? "Oh, maybe 10 o'clock? We come get it from you. You just leave key in car." SERIOUSLY!! Oh how I wish I had a picture of our car. It was a tiny 4 door chevy. And it didnt have a sun roof. No, the whole middle of the roof folded back. Analee was hanging out of the roof the ENTIRE time.
Anyway, we wandered through the island, took the windy roads, and drank Greek coke (yes it is different) and Greek Orange Fanta (yes, it is different). And again, let me say, Analee was hanging out of the top of the car the ENTIRE TIME! An hour or so into the trip, we were winding down the windy roads coming up on another small town when all of the sudden we were heading straight for a big old dump truck!!! Emily swerved out of the way, and we narrowly escaped being squished by a dump truck. I tell ya, as I am writing this, I am LAUGHING!! I totally understand if you are not, because I fail to paint the picture as well as I would like. But I laugh because I can just imagine what those two Greek men in the truck were thinking. "WHOA...MOVE!!! There is a small compact car with 3 screaming women in it and one of them is hanging our of the top!!!" Em and Analee are laughing with me. I know that they are. At the time, I was not laughing. Well, not totally. I wasnt even breathing. I could not catch my breath at all. Not because I was scared or pondering the "what-if's" of our near death experience. But because I was laughing/crying so hard. All I could picture is what our faces looked like to those two Greek trucker men. Anyway....here are a couple of the pictures I took on our trek......

This is one of the Marble Quarry's I speak of.

This is a local guy and his donkeys. I liked it.


These are the windmills. Man, everything here is so amazing!!





This statue is over 3000 years old!!! Wrap your head around that! His girlfriend (the other statue) is a little bit further up the mountain.

So we get back in our car and head....towards the beach we want to go to. More winding roads, more small towns, but we went through one called Moni. And this one was AWESOME. We could smell fresh baking bread, and sure enough as we turn one of the corners, there is a small bakery. Oh, we MUST stop. And we did. First in the middle of the road. Then we tunred around and tried to squeeze in between a pile of wood and a couple of old motorcycles on the side of the road. But we did it.

This picture is of Analee and Em standing in from of the building next to the bakery.

This is a couple pictures of the cute little baker lady. She was SO sweet!! So So Nice!! They all were. Everyone in Greece is just really nice!!!!

Ok, so Finally we get to the beach we were heading towards. There is NO ONE there. Seriously, NO ONE. This is supposed to be the most popular/beautiful beach on the island. And I am not lying when I say that NO ONE was there. I have no idea as to why I dont have any pictures of it. But there was sand almost up to the water. But where the sand ended, the marble pebbles started. The water, again, bath water. So clear!! So awesome!! ......(Sorry, taking a break for a minute for some rockin out to Pink Floyd with Grace....)......K, thanks for letting me do that.

K, this is where I change some names. ;) So, Me, Analou, and Emiline are on the beach for about 2 minutes when Emiline states, "This is beautiful....I am taking my top off." And indeed she did. Off comes her top. To that Analou agrees "Yes, it is quite beautiful....I am taking my top off as well." And to that, her top comes off as well. Then about 2 minutes after that, Emiline declares "Screw it, I am getting naked!!" And with that off come her swim suit bottoms. Well, with in seconds Analou's bottoms come off as well with a "ME TOO!!" Meanwhile, I am staying quite comfortable with my suit on. All the way on. Well, we got in the water a little bit. But really, the pebbles on this beach were UH-MAZING!!
This is the beach I speak of.

So we spent most of our time picking through the pebbles. Now, the only funny thing that happened to me was that I didnt put a lick of sunscreen on my body. Not an ounce. It felt too good. It didnt feel like I was getting burned at all. But alas....I felt my redness about 15 minutes after we got home. However, Emiline and Analou did not get burned. As we were sorting through the pebbles, Emiline walked further down the beach. (Let me remind you she is VERY naked) Analou and I stayed near each other. At one point I looked down the beach and there was Emiline laying on her tummy on the beach, fiddlin with the pebbles.
About 10 minutes later I looked down the beach again, and I noticed two people coming towards the water. Actually heading right towards Emiline. But they didnt see her yet. I smiled....chuckled, and thought..."They have no idea what lies ahead". Well, as they got closer, I could see that they were two men. They didnt seem to be together. Analou then looked up and laughed and said, "Shoot, Emiline is caught." Emiline continues to stay on her tummy, engrossed in the rocks. One of the men seemed to look in his 50's and the other in his early 40's. The one in his 50's started walking down the beach and towards us. He had no idea that he was about to stumble upon another nude maiden. Analou saw him coming, and said "Shoot, Shoot, here he comes". But she simply crossed her legs and had her arm across her boobs sifting through rocks. He saw nothing. He went to the end of the beach, back, and then left. HOWEVER, the other man (I will not refer to him as gentleman anymore) was thinkin "Hell Yeah!" And started wondering down the beach towards us.

Now, keep in mind that he was wandering on a pretty big beach. There is lots of walking room. But, as he started on his wander towards us, he didnt walk AROUND Emiline like a normal human would......nope, he stepped over her bare ass!!! Yup!! TOTALLY STEPPED OVER HER BARE ASS IN THE SUN!!!! As I write this, I STILL cant believe it!! So mister icky proceeds to wander down our way. He walks past us, then again, then again and then AGAIN!! Everytime, acting as if he is stretching. Retard. So, he makes it back to where Emiline is STILL laying on her tummy on the rocks. He takes his shorts off, and just kinda waits. Then....THEN......He flops his junk out of his speedos!!! NO LIE!!! Now let me make sure you understand what I am describing to you. He didnt take his speedos off. He still had them on, he simply reached into his speedos, grabbed his junk....ALL OF IT....and flops it out...as if it were suffocating and needed air. Speedos on, only they were only covering his ass. Junk flopped. And he proceeds to stand by Emiline. Just standing there with his junk out. Well, this whole time Emiline is thinking, "Stay focused on your rocks.....stay with the rocks....busy with the rocks....." Hoping that he would just go away. Well, he made it clear with his junk flop that he is not going anywhere!! So, Emiline gets up, rocks covering the front of her body in a mosiac fashion, and walked into the water. She is going to walk/swim over to us in the water. So junk flopper thinks this is an invitation of sorts. And with his junk still flopped out, he proceeds into the water as well. As Emiline starts towards us in the water, he starts yelling after her "No, come back! Vacation? Swim? Talk! Come! Come! COME HERE!" Uh... huh...right....that is going to work. Emiline shakes her head "No!" and keeps telling him that as she gets to us.

So we are all together. Then we look down the beach and junk flopper has gotten out of the water. He goes over to his stuff and he then takes his speedo off. Now he is totally nude, as if that is going to do the trick and Emiline is going to run to him, throw his naked body on the ground and start doing what he was imagining. Yeah. Right. He got in the water, got out. Looked as if he was deciding to wander back down to our end of the beach or not. Then, as if someone who flops their junk out has any sense in the first place, he seems to muster up a small amount of sense, and he gets dressed and he leaves. FINALLY Emiline is able to go back down to that end of the beach and get her rocks and shoes.

We continued with the rock finding for a few more hours, then we headed back to the room, Emiline and Analou had a fishing date with Thor. I, however, had a date with some aloe, sliced cool cucumbers, and cool sheets.

We had a really wonderful day ahead of us the next day. You see, Analee was GOING to get out on the water on a sailboat!! She wandered the dock the day before, and found a german sailor that took people out on day trips on his sail boat. Now, wanna know his name? I wanna tell you his name!! KOOTER!! Our german captains name was KOOTER!! I dont have a picture of him, but I think that Analee or Emily does.

So, the next day, May 31st, and Emily's 33rd birthday, we met Kooter at the the dock at 10 am. We were going sailing to a swim spot and then to the island of Paros. This was an 8 hour trip. To and from. The way there was not bad. Let me tell you, I have never been on a sailboat. But I dont normally get motion sickness. Analee had given us motion sickness patches before we got on the ferry in Athens. But that thing was so solid and steady, we didnt need it. HOWEVER....this sailboat....NOT so solid and steady. Like I said, it wasnt so bad. But I was NOT feeling great. I could not tell if it was because I was oh so sunburned, or because I was starting to feel a cold coming on. Oh, did I mention that we were taking this sailboat adventure with 3 other german couples? Well, we were. And I think that they were TOTALLY afraid of us. There could have been many reasons. We were loud and obnoxious by comparison, I am sure that they thought I would sink the boat with my fat ass, and then there was singing Analee. I love her so much!! I love how free she is. She does what she wants.

So this is the picture. The three of us were on the front of the boat, the bow..? (I so dont know the lingo) And the rest of them, all 7 of them, were all huddled in the back of the boat. I was sitting to one side of the boat in the front, Emily on the other, and Analee laying on her back, spread eagle right in the front where it come to a point. She had her eyes closed, IPod on , singing at the top of her lungs. YAY for her!! She was doing EXACTLY what she wanted, and she had never done it before. The germans, however, didnt look like they appreciated this like Emily and I did.

We get to the swimming hole and I just didnt want to get out and swim. Analee and Emily did and a few of the others did as well. Then it was off to Paros.

This is Paros. I remember EXACTLY what I was thinking as I took this picture. I was listening to my IPod. Listening to Ryan Adams. And I was thinking "I am on a freaking sailboat sailing the Freaking Aegean Sea" I cant even explain to you how that felt.

We get off the boat in Paros. We wandered a little bit. We didnt go too far into town, hell, not at all. We were only there for 2 hours. We settled on a place to eat. Looked at the menu and decided what to eat. Holy cow, we ALWAYS got so much food. Emily and I wanted to try everything! What if it was the best thing in the world and we didnt try it??? So, we agreed that we would get a greek salad to share, some mousaka, and something else....what to get? So we asked the waiter guy. Then we saw "Strange" on the menu. We asked him what it was. He said "Oh, I cant explain....uh...oh...it just strange. But, I tell you this, for 9 years people order, I give and they NEVER send back" Hmmmm.....ok. Give us an order of "Strange." THEN we order what we ARENT sharing. Seriously, we always ordered SO MUCH FOOD!! So, the Greek salad was good. It was typical. Then, out came the "Strange". Well, here is the truth. We didnt know if it was the "Strange" or the Mousaka. We had never seen either. And we could not find our guy to ask him. So we just dug in. Let me tell you what we were digging into. The top, Cheese. That is always good. Then from there, what do I taste? Is that mustard. Yes, Mustard. Hmmm...is that diced ham? YES, Diced ham. Hmmmm....I swear I taste tuna fish. Indeed I do....see, that looks just like tuna fish..FROM A CAN. Wait, Wait...that is french fries too. Honestly, I have NO idea what else was in there. We didnt finish it. And I figured out his play on words. He said no one has "sent it back." Well no duh they havent sent it back! They just dont finish it! They dont want to send it back because they have NO idea what you are going to do to their other food if they do. Then the mousaka. NOT GOOD!! I have no idea what was in it. Some sort of minced meat, and squishy stuff on top. DONT GET THE MOUSAKA!! Step away from it! Dont even get curious about it. Then out came my plate. Stuffed tomato and a stuffed pepper. It tasted pretty good.

After lunch, we wandered more. Then we headed back to Kooter and the sailboat. The rest of the germans made it over to us and we took off. Now, the way back to Naxos was not as "smooth" as on the to Paros. The water was so so so choppy and we were near vertical for most of the time. I tried to get comfortable. I shifted, my tummy yelled at me. I moved around, goton my feet. about an hour of this, and I could see Naxos in sight. But you see, that meant nothing, other than I could see it. It was not close. Not at all. I thought that was rude. Cuz I didnt feel good. So,then I got up, and my stomach did a flip then tied itself in a knot. I wobbled over to Kooter and said "Kooter, do you have a bag? I am going to be sick." He says "Oh, zust go on zee uzzer side of zee boat, get sick on zat side." And that is what I did. As soon as I got to the cable rail, out it came. The Strange, the salad, the mousaka, the tomato and the pepper. Twice. I looked over my right shoulder to the germans, and there was one woman that had the most terrified look on her face. I just grinned. Then I sat on the edge of the boat, feeling quite good, watching Naxos getting closer and closer.
This is post throw up......

We got back to Naxos and Kooter and the Germans asked us if we would like to join them for a beer. Ahhh, that was a nice invite. But we KNEW that is was not a genuine invite. They were just being nice. And the truth was, we werent any more interested in spending more time with them than they were with us. Not for any particular reason. They weren't mean by any means. We were just the odd ones out. Heavy on the ODD. :)

K, so this post has literally taken me hours. Those are the highlights of my amazing adventure with two UH-MAZING women. I will go again. In the next year or so. I LOVED IT! I am so glad that I got to go with Analee and get to know her in a different way. And I am so grateful that I got to know Emily this way. I love them both so much. They are both so so amazing.

So with that, here are a few more pictures of Greece.

And with that, I am saying good night. I hope you have liked my stories. I have like writing about them. Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

-A