We Chose To Climb.

There are a lot of things in this world that make me happy.  The smell of sunscreen.  Good sweet tea.  Saved By The Bell.  A really great beer.  March Madness.  A fantastic workout followed by a great foam roll stretch out.  Sunshine.  Antique furniture with a lot of character.  I could go on and on!

But few things make me as happy as old friendships.  I'm talking about the ones that you've had for a long time; the ones that are so established that you can just "be" with that friend, even if you haven't seen them in a year, and feel like they already know everything going on inside your head.  The kind of friend who just makes themselves at home and feels more like a member of your family than a buddy.  

I have a lot of friendships that fit that description, and I got to spend some wonderful time with an old friend 2 weeks ago:  Davys!

Davys and I met during the high school era (both horse girls in 4-H....we ran into each other from time to time at horse shows and hippology contests....cool, huh?), but our friendship really grew during the college years.  We were roommates in U-House in '05 (along with Lisa and Larisa!)

and have had many awesome adventures along the way.  She lives in DC now, and I only get to see this girl about once a year, so I was STOKED when her work sent her to San Fran for a conference and she can down and spent some days in SLO with me!

I still had to work and teach classes, so we worked out quite a nice routine for a few days, not unlike a cute old married couple, if I do say so myself.  I went into work early and got my stuff done, came home, we ate lunch together, had an afternoon adventure, went out to eat, drank a beer, and passed out early (with a little old school TV and movie action tossed in there).  Ha.  Times sure have changed since college!

Also, per usual, I did not take pictures.  However, Davys did, and I stole her memory card before she left, so every photo from here on out is credited to her....or her self-timed camera.  We used that bad boy a lot during our adventures! :)

We had a lot of great adventures, including some beach time at Avila where we met up with Laura and found some starfish under the peir....

...took a trip to Pirate's Cove, where there are cool caves, and apparently a nude beach.  That was a fun discovery.  Whoopsie.

went on a trail ride with my intermediate riding class.....

took the pups to Morro Bay to find some wildlife and eat a fantastic dinner at Taco Temple....

....and had a wonderful hike up Bishop's Peak and an accidental additional 2 hour long hike through Felman's.  See how wonderful it is to accidentally take a cattle trail that you thought was a real trail??!  When we got to the top (which is quite tall....), Davys was quick to find a memorial that I had never noticed before.  It had someone's name and the script "He chose to climb."  I'm assuming that he plummeted to his death?  We chose to climb too.  But we also chose not to fall.

And we had a wonderful last night with (again), a beer and a good classic.  Homeward Bound!

I'm so glad that I got to see Davys, and I miss her already!  But I am constantly reminded of her visit by the angry patches of poison oak that still cover my body.  Apparently I am getting more allergic as I get older :(

TTFN!

AP

Food for thought:

I will never have balance this great....and neither will you.

Animal House

Something in the water at Peterson Ranch has made all the critters crazy lately.   I should use this first paragraph as an opportunity to put in a disclaimer that there are pictures of dead animals on this post, so if you are squeamish, or a member of PETA, probably best not continue reading.

Gunner, my new puppy, has developed into quite the kleptomaniac.  He steals things and stockpiles them.   Socks are the primary target, but bras, underwear, dog food bowls, dog toys, and shoes are not safe from him.  His herding instincts make him convinced that everything needs to be in one central location, so he brings things to a pile in the living room.  But he doesn’t chew on them, so at least that is a good thing.  Case in point, I bought a new floor lamp today and had to lay out the pieces in the living room to assemble it.  During this process, the styrofoam pieces that it was packaged in mysteriously disappeared while I was occupied with the process.  I then discovered them, along with 3 socks, a receipt, and a rainbow sandal in a pile in my room.  Silly puppy never fails to make me laugh J

Seriously though, this week has been quite the “animal house” around here.  Even the beagle has been crazy. 

In the morning, I let the dogs outside and Sydney will howl when she wants to be let in for breakfast.  I hear the typical polite “please let me in” beagle howl and open the back door.  She usually darts in immediately, and upon opening the door, there was no beagle present.  I start looking around (she is still howling quietly) and can’t find her anywhere.  And then I look up….. into the cedar tree….. that’s right.  The cedar TREE.  Last time I checked, beagles don’t climb.  Apparently I am wrong, because stuck about 5 feet up in this tree is my dog, asking for help.  How she got up there? Your guess is as good as mine.  But I literally laughed out loud at the situation.   Didn’t have time to take a real picture, due to my natural fear that Syd would try to jump, but here is the scenario.

Did the beagle antics end with the tree incident?  Oh no.  She also killed her first ground squirrel this weekend.   I think she really surprised herself, because she didn’t know what to do with the poor thing, so she brought it to me for help.  Lucky me.

About two hours later, I found this fella by my garage.

Yep.  That is a rattlesnake.  A dead rattlesnake.  I chopped him in half with that shovel.  He was about 4 feet long.  It was quite an endeavor…. I was out in my yard planting my new mini veggie garden and soaking up some rays in my bathing suit when I went out to the garage area and discovered my unwanted  visitor.  So I panicked, naturally, and ran to get a shovel.  Upon getting said snake-killing-apparatus, I realized that this snake probably has a 2 foot strike range, and I am barefoot and in a bathing suit (i.e. lots of skin exposed to get bitten if I miss him and piss him off instead).  I dashed back inside, pulled on my super heavy duty winter weight Carhartt overalls and some rubber boots and went out there and thrashed him.

People, if y'all looked up “redneck” in the dictionary, you could have found a picture of me.  Winter overalls on top of my bathing suit in a “Bobcat” visor made of pink camo, wailing on snake with a shovel.  Lord have mercy.

Some of the geldings got quite the show.  Turner and Leroy were not impressed (yes, this is the fence to my backyard....ha).

Anywho, I decided that adventure was a bit too exciting for my taste, so I’m getting a gun so I can just shoot the dang things in the future.

And just when I thought all was said and done, I come back inside to a make-out session going on.

Someone should tell Syd that he’s under 18 and that’s illegal in all 50 states (I think….. maybe its OK in Louisiana??).

There's never a dull moment around here, but I love it and wouldn't have it any other way!  

AP

20 Things I Miss About The South

I miss the south.  Dearly.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the central coast region of California, and Michigan wasn't so bad either.

Maybe this recent “south-sickness” is a result of my trip to Florida two weeks ago.  Or perhaps because I just made shrimp ‘n grits for dinner accompanied by a nice, tall glass of sweet tea and I am now sipping on muscadine wine while listening to bluegrass music (y'all, that is about as southern as a gal can be out here in SLO!).  Or it could be because I’m making banana puddin’ for dessert for a beach cookout tomorrow.  

Whatever the reason for this recent withdrawal, and even though I haven’t lived in the south for a few years, it still completely has my heart.

Here are 20 things that I love/miss about the south:

1.  Fireflies on a warm summer night (there aren’t any out here!?)

2.  Banana puddin’ milkshakes from Chick-fil-a .  Please note that I am completely aware that there are 1,010 calories and 31g of fat in one of these bad boys…..and they are totally worth it!  I treat myself to one once every year (and then am sick to my stomach for about a day and half…ha), and I got pretty stoked about having one whilst in FL.  Unfortunately, I forgot about it until Sunday….and they are closed….why does that always happen!?!?

3.   Southern accents.  I hear “hey bra” (like “hey bro” in surfer language) and “dude” when I would prefer to hear “y’all.”  I hear “that bites” instead of “bless your heart.”  Californians tend to say “stoked” when they are excited about something.  If someone said “I’m happier ‘n a new puppy with two peters” instead, I’d be overcome with joy.  Also, on a side note, Californian’s say “the” in front of every interstate when giving directions and I find that remarkably annoying (example: take the 101 N until you hit the 5).

4.   Hudson Belk.

5.  Watching ACC sports on TV.  I have had to watch almost every single ACC game over the past 3 years on my computer because my cheap cable package doesn't have extra channels and local channels don’t play them.   MI wasn't so bad (at least Big 10 stuff was on), but I swear if I flip the channel to find one more Laker’s game on, I’m gonna lose it.

6.  Cook-Out and Bojangle’s.  Filet biscuit combo, french fries, iced tea please!

7.  Gumball trees.  I’m oddly nostalgic about these, and I’m unsure why.

8.  Sweet tea that is made by someone other than myself.

9.  The North Carolina State Fair.

10.   Chivalry.  OK, CA guys aren't too bad about this actually, but for those “gentlemen” in MI, as a general rule y’all need to take some notes on how to open a freaking door for a girl.  (The previous statement does not apply to my boyfriend, who is an excellent door-opener J ).

11.  The Blue Ridge Mountains.  MI was flat as a pancake (thanks a lot, glaciers!), and the Sierras are pretty sweet, but nothing beats the good ‘ol Blue Ridge mts.  I absolutely LOVED watching the Hunger Games and feeling like I was in western NC (which,technically, I was).

Photo credit to the amazingly talented Nick Sikorski

12.  The Atlantic Ocean and sand dunes.  The Pacific is awesome, and the waves are killer for surfing out here, and the rocks and cliffs are beautiful, but would it be so terrible if the water could be like TEN DEGREES WARMER so I didn't have to get into a wetsuit every single time I wanted to even stick my toe in it??

13.   Small town activities.  Like watching high school football on Friday night, even if you don’t have a kid that plays.  And classic southern 4^th of July celebrations on old school town lawns in front of some classic southern style home with white columns.  My small town activity here consists of a farmer’s market that attracts 44,000 people every week.  I love it, but it’s not exactly “quaint."

14.   Magnolia trees.

15.  Old southern men.  The cute "grandpa" type, not the creepy ones who hit on you awkwardly at the waterfront in Beaufort.

16.  Cheerwine.

17.  The smell of rain when a summer storm approaches (1.  It doesn't rain here.  2.  I think most of these people have never heard thunder before in their lives).

18.  Old civil war era architecture and buildings with big front porches.

19.  Concerts at Walnut Creek.

 20.  Beaufort, NC.

There are, however, a few things that I do not miss in the slightest, including humidity, mosquitos, and Duke fans.  But if you are from the south, let this serve as a reminder of how awesome you have it.  

Miss all ya'll who are down there!  Somebody eat some bbq and fry up some okra in my honor!

AP

Food for thought:

An incredibly beautiful example of marriage

We take lots of things for granted....

I lately have an addition to J-pop and K-pop.... because I find them hysterical.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there!  I'm not a mom (unless you count my fur-babies!), but I have a great respect and appreciation for those of you who are.  For now, here is my family photo ;)

If I ever am blessed enough to have kids, I hope I can be half as good of a mother to them as my momma is to me.  She is such an amazing woman and I don't know how she does it all.  She raised one wonderful kid (*cough*alaina*cough*) and two who turned out mediocre (haha, totally kidding!  Ben and Ryan are pretty awesome).  She takes care of our house.  She feeds us (and is a pretty amazing cook).  She works.  She volunteers and is involved with the community.  She is there whenever someone needs love and support, and she does it gladly.  She is faithful to the Lord.  She is AMAZING!

We have a running joke in our family that whoever does something nice for mom is "her favorite" for the moment.  But the amazing thing about my mom is that she doesn't have a favorite.  She loves us all equally, and she loves us all with an inexhaustible love that is very real and constant.  She is such a fantastic model of the Proverbs 31 woman who loves the Lord and her family, who is a hard worker, who helps the needy and speaks with kindness.  She constantly challenges me, inspires me, and encourages me, and I could not be more grateful to her for loving me and raising me the way that she did :)  

I could fill an endless page with all of the wonderful things about her, but instead, I'll share some of my favorite memories with her, in picture form ;)  

Thanks mom, for all the love you give me!!  I wouldn't trade you for any other person in the world.

Alligators are terrifying.

If you do not agree with me, there is something legitimately wrong with you.  I sincerely think that these critters scare the bajeezus out of me more than anything else alive on this planet.  People ask me all the time “aren’t you scared of getting attacked by a great white shark while you are surfing??”  No.  Fact:  alligators are far more terrifying than great whites.  

A shark is likely only going to grab you by accident, and just rip a limb off or occasionally chomp somebody in half by accident because they mistook you for a sea lion.  How many gator-attack survivors do you hear of????  Exactly.  None.  Well, that may be an exaggeration, but few.  Why?  Because gators come out of nowhere, grab a hold of you and drag you to the depths of their watery habitat with the pure intent of eating you.  Translation:  you are screwed from the beginning. 

Why the tangent on gators?  Because I just came back from Florida, where I got to go see my boyfriend for the first time in a few months.  And I’m genuinely concerned that he doesn’t share my same respect for these creatures.  I worry that he is going to do something stupid like go water skiing in a lake down there.  My solution?  I saw every lake/pond/puddle that we walked by/drove by/passed in his new area of residence (Lakeland, most unfortunately….) as an opportunity to try to instill my irrational fear into him.  I don’t think that I have been successful yet, but I trust that time will work in my favor and I will come out on top as the rational thinker in the end J

Regardless, I was able to get a Friday off work, and Landon managed to get a weekend where he wasn’t traveling for his new job, so I went down to visit him in his new home this weekend.  Two days isn’t much, but when you live 3,000 some miles away from the one you love and you haven’t seen them in almost 3 months, you welcome any time you can get with open arms.  And we absolutely made the most of it!  We spent a lot of time just organizing his new apartment (which is quite spiffy!) and unpacking things, laying out at the pool, and just enjoying the simple pleasures that you lucky couples who see each other daily or weekly take advantage of (like seeing a smile in person instead of hearing it over the phone, having a cup of coffee together, having a date night, and my favorite:  getting to go to church together). 

We did have a spectacular date night on Saturday night.  We ate at Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grille, which is an absolutely FANTASTIC Creole and seafood restaurant in down town Lakeland.  I highly recommend it if you are in the area.  It is seriously the best Creole food that I have ever eaten outside of New Orleans.  Landon and I both agreed that it was the best place we have ever eaten at together, which is quite the bold statement, as we both love to eat and have put away our fair share of delicious food across the country together.

We had amazing fried green tomatoes for an appetizer, (and some amazing bread, and some even more amazing shrimp and scallop fondue.  Don’t judge.  There were too many amazing appetizers to choose from to pick just one), Landon got a pecan-crusted trout dish, and I had the best shrimp ‘n grits that I have ever had in my life (again….a bold statement, as this is one of my all-time favorite southern dishes, and I run a tight ship on what kind of shrimp ‘n grits I consume, as my standards are quite high).  Seriously, the food was so good that I dreamt about it that night.  I’m not kidding.  I may or may not have woken up in a puddle of drool (I’ll let you hang on to that lovely mental picture for a moment…ha).  Seriously though, I did dream about it.

We got to go check out a local bar and just walk around on a beautiful southern evening in Lakeland’s lovely down town park area (near a lake…darn you Lakeland!...).  Words can’t describe how nice it was to just enjoy an evening together.

It was so nice, in fact, that I completely forgot to take any pictures of anything.  So here is one of a baby horse instead:

Happy Tuesday!

AP

Food for thought:
Love really is a blessing...especially when it lasts long and is adorable like this!

The fabled PonyLion really exists