So yesterday we put up the Griswold family Christmas tree. Mom and Dad nearly always cut a tree down from a farm and it's always nice and fresh and green. This year the tree is awesome but has some intersting holes in it's structure. The other thing about this tree is that it bites...like the dog! So because of this my Father put on thick, blue gloves to help. I found this incredibly funny and had to document it. we finally decorated it today and it looks gorgeous. I'll post pictures of this tommorow. We've spent the last two days baking cookies. It's been a blast and there are LOTS of great things to munch on. I love all my granny's old recipes and although she isn't here to make them we do our best because we know she's watching and will have something to say if we do it wrong! Tommorow we are going to Church. They are doing a version of the Nativity. More about that tommorow!
So my parents have a dog named Big Boy. He has that name for a reason as you can see below. He is a Cane Corso Mastiff (Italian Mastiff) and weighs over 125 lbs. He was a stray that my Father rescued. Little did he know that the dog was crazy...literally. They actually had to call in a behaviorist because the dog was a wack job and was going to eat them...seriously. So although he's still crazy, he's more manageable now and was allowed to stay...for now. He has to behave and be good in order to remain. He really is nuts, today he bit me trying to get the tissues in my hand. He was playing but his head is bigger than mine so you can imagine the teeth. No blood but a little sore. He's so freakin cute and sweet when he's not devouring you....
So part of my trips back home are usually spent shopping...Christmas or not. This shopping is done at Short Pump. Short Pump is a large area of Richmond where most major stores and then some are located. Not only is there stip type malls with your Best Buys, Circuit City's, and Borders, but there is also an open air shopping mall with stores like Saks 5th Ave. and Macy's. It's quite the experince and I have to say that although I like to shop, Short Pump is even too much for me sometimes. Below is a picture of just one SMALL part of the traffic situation around Short Pump. You spend most of your time there in traffic, not shopping!
So when my niece (who is now almost 18) was a child she used to call squirrel's Bruce's and Seagulls Johnathan's. Now I don't know where the Bruce idea came from but Johnathan's came from of course, Johnathan Livingston Seagull. I'm not sure how or why she came up with this in her little 4 yr old brain, but I hadn't though about it in years until I saw a seagull walking in the snow in Omak, WA. I made a comment to Honey about watching the Johnathan's. I'm not sure if she heard me/correctly or just blew it off as being not important (which it wasn't) and not needing clarification. So today while at Wendy's the Johnathan's made an appearence and I couldn't help but snap a picture of them in all their infinite wisdom yet ignorant all at the same time. Their little bird brains not even allowing them enough thinking power to move out of the way of cars or fly away from the 200+ pounds of Italian Mastiff wanting to eat them. In fact, one was so bold/stupid (depending on who you talk to) as to stand on one leg and stare at him. I wonder what he was thinking.....
So today began the great pre-christmas adventure. I got up at 10 and talked to Dad for a bit then got ready to go....SHOPPING! By the end of the week I will have shopped EVERY DAY! I both love and hate christmas commercialism. I hate it because I think to a point its ridiculous and obscene even. I love it because I love giving gifts and seeing people's faces when they open something they weren't expecting or were wanting but never thought they would get. It's great.... We went to the base to the commissary and PX to get food. I got lots of yummy things I can't get out in Okanogan or even Washington. Then we had Wendy's...another thing that Omakanogan lacks. Big Boy had chicken nuggets and fries with us. Then we came home and set up the xmas tree. Big Boy thought that was great fun! After that was making dinner and online stuff. Mom came home and we had dinner and watched TV and were in bed by 10pm. I'm now laying in bed blogging and listening to an episode of the OFFICE. I love that show...we all have a little Dwight in us...UH! That's what she said....heh heh!
So this finds me home again for the holidays with Mom and Dad. I love this time of year and the trip except for that whole having to leave part of it...it sucks. Todays travels were full of drama, delays, aggrevation, and interesting observations. First the delays, drama, and aggrevation... This photo shows what it looked like at 5am this morning at Spokane International Airport. Shortly after taking this photo I was informed that the flight was being delayed at least 1 hour for "numerous mechanical issues", which of course always makes you feel safe and comfortable. So they gave us meal vouchers and an hour later we were told it was delayed indefinitely and to make our ways to one ticket counter or another to get booked on other flights etc. So I call the Telephone reservation line and get on a flight to Denver that was leaving in 4 minutes. I was standing in front of the door and they closed it on me and told me that it was too later...flight number two down the crapper. So then it was a trip downstairs to wait for an hour to get booked back on the same flight from the morning that was now leaving at 11am. It finally took off at 10:30am. The flight to Chicago was not too bad...Harry Potter, lots of room, and a great view of the snowy, snowy Mid-West. So then I get to Chicago and find out that there was in fact an earlier flight to Richmond, Va than what they booked me in so I attempted to get on that flight only to be told that yes, they had seats BUT since I had a checked bag, I was not allowed to fly on a flight without said baggage. I fucking HATE airtravel. How many people fly without their baggage on a daily basis? So it's ok if they fuck up and we have to do it then but if we actually WANT to do it, then it's not ok? UHG! So I got some italian beef and an ice cream cone and paper. It was a simple solution to keep me from ending up in jail. I finally arrived in Richmond, Va at 9:17pm. Over 12 hours after the start of my day. *Sigh*, I'm glad to be home.
Now for the interesting observation. Has anyone else noticed men who seem to stand semi-hunched over with their pelvis' sticking out while they are engaged in conversation? It's like they are talking with their penis'...it's very strange. I don't have a photo but I will attempt to get one on the return trip.
So we recently decided to start having a monthly religious themed party. This month's was the Mormons. Here is some of the evidence:) In the Mormon religion this is actually called Family Home Evening. It is a night where you have special foods and play games, do scripture readings, sing songs, etc.....
We traveld through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and finally into Iowa today. There were many adventures along the way of course. We stopped at 10:30am for ice cream at DQ. Only on vacation is this acceptable....lol. In the midwest reststops are called service plazas or oasis'.
After that we tried to have conversation on politics, health care etc but it was unsuccessful do to the hardheadedness of the family....lol. There are also a ton of toll stops in the Midwest. They are fun if you have an I-Pass and can just drive through fast.
So then we decided that we wanted to stop in Chicago for lunch and I suggested Navy pier. It's one of my favorite places eventhough it's a tourist mecca...uhg!
We had Chicago dog's from America's Hotdogs, home of the world's largest hotdog, chinese food, and greek food. It was all yummy for the most part. I love Chicago Dog's even if they are nasty sounding....lol!!! I didn't get a picture of the actual dog oddly enough but I did get some other fun lunch time photos!
Monday finds us travleing through the great states of Virginia, Pennsylvannia, and Ohio. We are currently at the Holiday Inn Express in Wauseon, OH. It's a cool little place. I'm sharing a room with my nieces which is proving to be an adventure. I love them to death and they provide hours of entertainment. We mostly drove today although that was enough fun for us! Mom got friendly with some cops, *A couldn't remember her Alphabet, and *M was just a barrely of laughs. Tonight we went swimming and then came back to the room where I showered and was interupted by the "party" girls. I think they saw my bare ass, serves them right! Below you will find some of the pics from our photo session and time in the car. More to come!!!
"...but you can never leave Chicago...ha hah" - Ani Difranco
So I'm finally in Virginia. It only took 16 hours of travel to get here through our fine air transportation system. It was touch and go for a bit but everything got straightened out and I got here. I'm exhausted. The flights were overbooked. We had bad weather. We had nasty attendants (except for the hottie twink who kept hiding from my camera...grr) I finally got here three hours later than normal. Richmond smells like an outhouse currently and the humidity is 500% or something ridiculous like that. It's glorious...lol. Some highlights of the trip were the sushi I had in Detroit of all places (pic below), and the IPOD vending machine (pic also below). It was kind of bizarre to see a vending machine devoted entirely to IPOD's and their accessories. I'm also posting some randoms of the trip and will be putting the edited versions on my photo site after I get home in two weeks:) I'll be posting lots over the next two weeks barring any major tech malfunctions. OH! And keep my granddad in your thoughts. He apparently has a nodual on his lung and has to have a biopsy. I'm sure it's fine but happy thoughts never hurt anyone:) Miss all of you!!!!
So Friday began S* and I's three week vacation spree, seperately. She's in California and I will be leaving for Virginia and then driving with the family to Iowa. I will be gone a total of 2 weeks. She gets home three days after I leave. Such is life. It will be the longest we have been apart continuously. I know, I know....gag me. It's hard though when you get used to having a constant in your life that you love and enjoy and then to be apart from it for 3 weeks. I hate being in the house alone so I've had "babysitters" the last two nights. SH* kids are awesome and grudgingly put up with my juvenile request for company:) Granted I had to semi-bribe them with electronic treats, but still..... R* came home today and all of us rejoiced and sang and danced upon his return ;) The office overhaul went off well and was much apperciated...YAY! I picked up steaks for dinner and we went over to SH* house and P* grilled them, they were great. The we watched the first part of Angels in America....*sigh*. I love that movie. It's so well done and very true to the original stage production which made me very happy. I would love to be the angel in the movie and be able to scream "I I I" about things....lol. On a side note, I saw the best thing the other day. Two blocks from my house I saw a little person (midget) walking a full-size goat on a hot pink collar and leash (the goat, not the woman). It was a wonderful bit of bizarre in my day! Tommorow will bring lots of list making, cleaning, taking care of medical things, and hopefully some visiting w/ R* and movie watching. I have Jackass 2 that I have yet to see!
The dogs have been busy as well lately. They have had lots of visitors and friends to play with. Murphy is growing faster than we ever imagined and is finally getting used to be around other dogs besides Nero. He still alpha's them but it's not terribly threatening, not like before at least. The heat has been taking a toll on them as well. They love being inside when it's hot and Murphy has taken to standing on the couch in front of the AC to get himself cool. It's quite the site. I've been sick the last few days and spent most of the time reading the last Harry Potter book. It was awesome! Went to the doctor today and I may have an ulcer or some weird stomach bacteria. Lots of pleasant test in my future I think. I'm feeling totally normal today but don't want to have anymore run-ins with whatever it was making me sick. I just need to stay well enough to make it though vacation. S* leaves on Friday for 10 days of family vacation in California. I'll be in a week for vacation with my family in Virginia and Iowa. It'll be fun but we are definitely not looking forward to the seperation. Well I guess I will end there. Would love to hear from the folks that read this eventhough they are few:)
So it's been almost three months since I've posted anything....ahhhh, summer!
I worked as a substitute special-ed paraeducator for Omak School District until Mid-June. It was a ton of fun but also gave may some insight as to what is going on with school systems/education today. It was really hard for me to see kids falling through the cracks not necessarily by the fault of the school system but by a combination of things. Happily, in most cases, the school system was the "positive" aspect of the kids life. I was supposed to recieve a full-time permanent-ish position but that fell through due to the wonders of Union agreements. I'm hoping that there will be something opening soon, at least that's what they keep telling me *sigh*. The month of June was a busy one for us with Pride parades, birthdays, and our 7 year anniversary. It was a busy month and although it was fun, I'm glad it's past. We went to Lake Osooyoos, Canada for the 4th of July with our friends and their family. It was entertaining and a good time.
I spent a lot of time working in the Garden of Despair as I now call it. All I managed to get in the ground due to a series of unfortunate events was tomatoes, onions, peppers, and eggplant. I'm going to try planting late season things and see what I get but the rest will have to wait until next year. We may be buying a house sometime in the next 6-months due to our swell landlord deciding to sell our place. We may buy the house that we are in but honestly, if we are buying I want more land and more rooms! Life in Okanogan isn't as bad as you may think and we are considering extending our stay here to 5 years total if some other things fall into place. We shall see. Most of July was spent working on the Wizard of Oz youth theater camp. It was run by and attended by numerous Mormons. Now that in itself was not really a problem except for the fact that I felt a little judged, many of us were treated like slaves, and there was little recognition of our talents or work. I would only do it again if a certain someone needed the help but ONLY then! The play was awesome and there was a great director and stage crew. The kids were both cute and annoying but overall it rocked. These pictures are of Glenda's Bubble (the good witch) that she rides into the scenes on. R* and I came up with the ideas and I put it together in about a day. It's for sale if anyone is interested:) There is also a huge Oz head that was made. I'll post pix of it later. After that was done there was Harry Potter and visits from friends and their dogs and much merriment had.
So we are staying in Omakanogan for Cinco De Mayo much to my dismay. I really wanted to go to Spokane but we have too much to do and may be going elsewhere this month so gotta save the $$$.
I hear that the celebration here is a good one. I wonder if the hispanics actually enjoy celebrating something that is mostly for Americans(because Cinco De Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day like most think) or if they just do it for drunk anglos?
We will be attending the Farmer's Market/Cinco Celebration on Saturday followed by yardsaling and Costco I think. The trip to Costco takes most of an afternoon since it's 3+hours roundtrip to go to one.
So this area has a trade/sell/want ads type publication that comes out weekly. Today's edition contained an interesting Lost and Found ad.
"-Runaway Donkey, last seen on Spring Coulee Rd gong towards Salmon Creek at high lope, 826-1482 if you’ve seen it"
So I wonder how one would react to and exactly what does a runaway donkey look like? Is it actually running? Is there a reason it ran away from it's owner? Should I try to stop it? Do I call the cops if it looks "crazed"?
So last night I was suppose to go and help the local Theater group paint sets for the "Sound of Music". They were in desperate need of painters and so I said I would go and when I got there, they didn't need me. Needless to say I was a little irked BUT everything happens for a reason. So I go to the local supermarket to look for ribs and on my way home, I pass the local park and there are TONS (which is about a 100 in small town speak) of people there and some sort of concert going on. Well for those of you who aren't aware, Omakanogan is a religous area of the state. Very religous. So I stopped and saw a one of the teachers from my school there and went to ask him what was going on. It was a concert for Jesus. A group from B.C. Canada travels around preaching the gospel and rockin' out for Jesus. It's a program to keep kids off of drugs, alcohol and out of trouble. So I hung out there for awhile and witnessed the power of the lord in my community. It was interesting. There were testimonials and raised hands and clapping and hot dogs. Feed them and they will come......
So not that anyone really reads this thing anyways but sorry I haven't posted in so long. Things have gotten nuts here lately and there has been a steady stream of visitors, out of town trips, and long work days. All of these things are not conducive to regular posting.
So since more people may start reading this soon, I'll just give a quick update:
I have been semi-gainfully employed for almost 2 full months now. The job is challenging and sometimes fun, but mostly challenging. I really like it and so far so good. I'm int he process of actually applying for it right now so it can become an official job and not just a sub job.
My other half is starting a new type of law soon and it will provided for if nothing else, interesting stories of juvenile shenannigans. Other than the long hours, she is great. We are hoping for a vacation this summer but well....that's a another story for another lifetime. If we will be in your neck of the woods we'll let ya know!
Most of my freetime has been spent dealing with cats, dogs, the yard and garden, and trying to get my shit together art wise.....it's getting there slowly but surely....;)
Check out my photoblog at : www.cwimages.blogspot.com
So since my parents had to be different my name doesn't pop any real needs up so I modified it to the usual spelling and this is what I need....
1. "Crystal needs a lot of love." (yes, yes I do...I'm a cancer for christ sake!) 2. "Crystal needs "Valuations"." (Ummmm....not sure what a "valuation" is but...sure..I need one. 3. "Crystal needs someone that will be patience and someone who is willing to explain everything to her." (Don't we all!) 4. "Crystal needs donations." (Donations to the art fund are always welcome) 5. "Crystal needs charging." (I am NOT the energizer bunny...so yes, I need charging.) 6. "Crystal needs to rest." (Again, not the Energizer bunny." 7. "Crystal needs improvement." (I do find room for improvment.) 8. "Crystal needs a park." (I SOOOOOO WANT MY OWN PARK!!!!) 9. "Crystal needs to sit in a super-saturated solution to continue growing." (This one is strangely true....or is it...?) 10. "Crystal needs a vacation to sleepytime land." (My name must really say "tired")
So it came to my attention the other day that a local non-profit service group handed out the toy below to a 3 year girl (of a slightly religous family) at the local Christmas parade.
I think it's interesting that they don't inspect the toys they get....
Ok, this should be the last back post I'm going to do. Having used myspace until they decided to change their posting process for photos in blogs messed me up and caused me to get behind. So the last back post is about...Alaska!For those of you who don't know yet (where the hell have you been?), I went to Alaska w/ Mom and Dad in August. It was a blast. Here are a few of the photos from there. I'll have some others later on so keep an eye out!
This year was the first year that I haven't gone home for Thanksgiving since 2001. I was left to my own devices for our dinner which if you know anything about me, it is not a big deal since I cook everyday. However this Thanksgiving also was the same time that Mom and Dad got new phones for me, mom, and granddad. They are camera phones...so as you can imagine, I utilized my phone to the fullest in order to share my holiday with Mom and Dad and also so they could assist me with the Turkey since it's the first one I've cooked totally alone. The following pictures are my Thanksgiving 2006 photo-story. You may find it boring or you may not...either way comments are welcome!
So now that the New Year is well underway and I've had some time to get pictures uploaded etc, I thought I would do a quick recap of my Christmas activities because some are too great not to share:) I'm just gonna post pics with a quick caption so if you want more info leave me a comment or drop me a line and I'll oblige.
So I flew back to Washington on Dec. 29th. It was honestly a trip from hell and my lack of faith in the airline industry was completly renewed.
First thing was checking in. It went smooth for the most part except for when I was told I was checked all the way to Spokane and then found out later that I wasn't and didn't have a boarding pass.
After that Mom and I walked to security and saw a woman completly FREAKING out at the ticket counter. I believe they were calling security as we were walking by.
At security I was given the riot act for all the film I carry and was treated like shit by some 4'11 fucker who tried to tell me that I didn't have the right to a handcheck of my film because they were all 400asa (which they weren't but he wouldn't listen). I had to use my "authoritative dog mother voice" and he finally rolled his eyes and gave it to another agent. 4 out of 5 times I don't have any problems but then there is always the guy who has to show his "size" and problems ensue.
After that I get to my gate and am all ready to go. We get on the plane and I see my luggage still on the cart. Now mind you, we are suppose to leave in like 8mins and the plane is loaded for the most part. So I'm watching my luggage (and there was others as well, but not alot) and I'm seeing all these handlers leaning on it and looking at it and then shortly after, there are emergency vehicles pulling up. Now I'm a paranoid traveler as it is so I was almost ready to call an attendant to see what was up. I thought they were gonna blow it up or something. The King of the hill episode where they blow up Hank's smoked turkey because a dog gave an alert on it kept playing in my head. Soon it was revealed that there was a medical emergency which ended up being a false call.
So after that fiasco, I get an alert from Orbitz on my phone that my plane (which is supposed to take off at 2:39pm) will not be leaving until 4:30pm. Shortly after that, the captain announces that we are delayed because there is a plane in Chicago (now pay attention) that needs a crew. The crew is at an airport that has no direct flight to Chicago until much later that night. The plane in Chicago has all 300 passengers on board. Our plane was marked as the one to be delayed to wait for the needed crew to fly to DC and get on our plane so we could take them to Chicago. We were told that we had 5mins to get off the plane before two international flights landed at the otherside of our gate and immagration officers would not let us debark the plane. So as I'm trying to get off the plane because I've also realized that my connecting flight will be gone by the time I get to Chicago AND I have no ticket from Seattle to Spokane, they shut the doors and say that the planes landed early and we are now stuck. So for two hours I sat on a plane with nasty recycled air and an edited version of the DaVinci code.
We finally left and got to Chicago and I had already rescheduled my ticket over the phone and got a better flight and all was good. The plane blew a tire when it landed I think because it hit REALLY hard. I fly alot and know it's not suppose to come down that hard. My next flight was only 30mins delayed but the flight was TERRIBLE. I honestly thought I was gonna die. The plane went through a funnel system over the Dakotas and it actually dropped down and was shifting from side to side and the captain actually yelled at the flight attendants to take their seats immediately. It was scary and I was also sitting next to a guy who weighed 400lbs (seriously) so I had no room to grab anything or whatever. Thank god it only last about 10mins and we landed shortly after. So I'm thinking it's finally over and I can get my luggage and go to sleep at Miss Mitch's. Wrong. My luggage never made it to Spokane AND the lady was completly unhelpful. I was panicked because ALL my gifts, clothes, meds, etc were in those bins and bags. Uhg. I finally got it the next day at 3pm. It had been in Seattle at Alaskan Air where I would have been if I hadn't rescheduled my flight. So there you have it folks.....my travels for the holidays.
So I flew back to Washington on Dec. 29th. It was honestly a trip from hell and my lack of faith in the airline industry was completly renewed.
After that I get to my gate and am all ready to go. We get on the plane and I see my luggage still on the cart. Now mind you, we are suppose to leave in like 8mins and the plane is loaded for the most part. So I'm watching my luggage (and there was others as well, but not alot) and I'm seeing all these handlers leaning on it and looking at it and then shortly after, there are emergency vehicles pulling up. Now I'm a paranoid traveler as it is so I was almost ready to call an attendant to see what was up. I thought they were gonna blow it up or something. The King of the hill episode where they blow up Hank's smoked turkey because a dog gave an alert on it kept playing in my head. Soon it was revealed that there was a medical emergency which ended up being a false call.
that, the captain announces that we are delayed because there is a plane in Chicago (now pay attention) that needs a crew. The crew is at an airport that has no direct flight to Chicago until much later that night. The plane in Chicago has all 300 passengers on board. Our plane was marked as the one to be delayed to wait for the needed crew to fly to DC and get on our plane so we could take them to Chicago. We were told that we had 5mins to get off the plane before two international flights landed at the otherside of our gate and immagration officers would not let us debark the plane. So as I'm trying to get off the plane because I've also realized that my connecting flight will be gone by the time I get to Chicago AND I have no ticket from Seattle to Spokane, they shut the doors and say that the planes landed early and we are now stuck. So for two hours I sat on a plane with nasty recycled air and an edited version of the DaVinci code.
So I'm thinking it's finally over and I can get my luggage and go to sleep at Miss Mitch's. Wrong. My luggage never made it to Spokane AND the lady was completly unhelpful. I was panicked because ALL my gifts, clothes, meds, etc were in those bins and bags. Uhg. I finally got it the next day at 3pm. It had been in Seattle at Alaskan Air where I would have been if I hadn't rescheduled my flight.
