thrift store shopping

did you know they once wrote a newspaper article about my older sister and her thriftiness? its true. i remember going into an ARC or goodwill with my sister and my eyes see nothing but junk and ugly clothes. i find nothing. but 20 minutes later my sister comes over to show off her amazing finds! what? how? where?
she even got her prom dress from the thrift store.
i needed thrift store shopping lessons.
see thrift store shopping takes some skill and practice. you have to see the treasures that are hiding in the piles of junk. i have gotten a lot better over the years and some of my favorite items of clothing and furniture are garage sale or thrift store finds. oh and just to clarify - the pricey consignment shops and places like 'buffalo exchange,' although they have great deals, do not qualify as a 'thrift store' in my book.
so this last week i moved out of 'the orchard.' i couldnt have done it without my mom and sister and nephew's help ;) we had my dads truck and headed south to pack up my belongings. on the way there we pass a sign you cant miss at the 'family thrift store' that says, "CLOSING SALE: EVERYTHING 75% OFF." seriously? i make my first U-turn and pull in. it was true. me, my sister and my nephew walked in and were in awe of the madness. people were just throwing stuff into carts (one cart full was $10). people didnt even know what half the stuff was. things were spread out all over the floors. my sister made the mistake of looking at something that was in a cart - a lady rushed over and yelled "excuse me, thats mine!" and so we had no choice but to join in the chaos. we get to the register with 2 lamps, a trash can, some mugs, some tea cups, a plate that says mississippi on it, a dry erase board, a 20 year old tape player with tapes and my nephew has a batting helmet on and a fish tank. we stand in front of the cashier holding all our stuff and ask,"how much?" with out even glancing up the lady says "$3.23"...uh. ok.
we left thinking, 'what just happened in there?' people act insane when there are huge sales (think black friday).
but we simply shrugged our shoulders and celebrated all of our cool "new"...um...stuff.

a picture is worth a thousand words

hahaha. after taking some family pictures at my aunts wedding - i came across this one and laughed with my older sister at how it accurately depicts everyone's unique personality.
from left to right...
my sister jacqueline is not finding any cute boys and just thinking 'where are we?'
i just make everything into a joke.
my older sister is the organizer, and always on top of it.
my dad is thinking about when this is gonna be over.
and my mom is saying "i wonder how you work this thing?"

classic family portrait.

choose love.

how does anyone live without a sister?









i love these girls.
im so blessed to have them and i know i can come to them with anything and everything.
without judgement we will love each other. understand each other. always.
not because we are family, but because we are friends.
what is family anyway. the people who are supposed to love you no matter what? whether you are family or not, love is always a choice.

i love learning about family dynamics. how daughters are effected if they grow up without a dad. does the middle child syndrome really exist? what is the best way to discipline? every family is different and so there are really no solid answers. no formula on how to have the perfect family. every family is a little dysfunctional. some more than others :)
what can you do?
well last night we played nertz, ordered vegetarian pizza, smoked cigars and laughed. talked about the awkwardness of my aunt's wedding, the long lost brother who showed up, seeing my mom's mom for the first time, the commune that my uncle is in, and the details of why my uncle was in a wheelchair.
everyone in my family is different, messy and real and well maybe a little crazy. but the one thing i can always count on when we get together is that it is never ever boring :)


The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life.
- Richard Bach

mt. sherman

all summer i have been dying to climb a fourteener. i have been wanting to do it on a weekday when it is less crowded...but apparently most people have normal jobs and have to work. i finally convinced my little sister to do one the day before she started school. i woke up at 3:30am...got to my parents house at 4 to pick her up and she was all ready to go. my mom woke up too and as i was looking up directions my mom all the sudden remembers that my sister has some 5 hour orientation thing for school that starts at 7am. seriously? i tried talking her out of going, but as a the new girl starting her sophomore year at a school called ralston valley...she wanted to be as prepared as possible (its seems that schools ending with the word 'valley' the girls can be a little more uh...stuck up...ha).
needless to say we all went back to bed.
my little sister still owes me a 14er...but in the mean time one of my best friends evie came to town last sunday. she is currently in med school and is spending six months traveling around to different hospitals for rotations. i was pumped that one of them was in colorado!! she was able to stay at my house all week and although i was at work for most of it, we did get to go to the cheesecake factory, celebrate erins birthday, and hike a fourteener. we decided to do mt. sherman, we heard it was easy and i was certain that the term 'easy' is relative. climbing any huge mountain is a challenge and thats one of the reasons why i love it! the books said it would take 8 hours...and well it took less than four! maybe there was a harder routt or something...but we felt a little jipped. i mean it was a great hike and the view from the top is never disappointing, but we may need to hike another one next week...

"work"

the airline i work for is short flight attendants...and so the last couple months i have been given more trips. i love my job, but i think almost any job that you do too much, will get to you at some point. maybe not. all i know is i love the flexibility that i have had in the past. i love the crazy people i meet on the planes. and i love layovers in monterey.
i had a four day trip last week...the first overnight was in hayden/steamboat/craig....the airport represents all three towns. ridiculous. we actually stay in craig...and that town has a lot of character. for instance the flight attendant and i walked down to the local thrift store, sticking out like a sore thumb, and a truck of red neck guys (i think they had a trailer of cows attached to the truck) pulled over to say hi to us. hi. then they ask, "ya girls wanna come to my sisters' wedin'"...um. no thanks.
the second night was in santa barbara...which is on my "places to live someday" list. we went in the hot tub that night, and woke up early the next morning to ride my bike to the beach, walked around state street. i came across a homeless person on the beach playing a cardboard guitar and singing along with his boom box into a fake stand up mic made out of trash. he was singing imagine by john lennon. he was loving it. and i dont blame him...how could you live in santa barbara and not be happy. there were people everywhere smiling, going on walks with their friends, playing volleyball. 10am on a wednesday. dont these people have jobs? i guess they may be thinking the same of me. all i know is that if i am ever homeless, the beach in santa barbara is definitely where i would set up camp.
and that brings me to our third night in monterey. i stepped out of the plane and took in the smell of ocean. although the overnight there is quite short, the hotel we stay at is lovely and the other flight attendant and i ventured out for a night on cannery row. which is known for its endless samples of clam chowder from about 10 or more nice seafood restaurants on this pier. is was a full moon and a beautiful night. i just love being near the ocean.
on the flight home i had the famous peter noone in my first class...in case you are unfamiliar he was in the legendary sixtys pop band, herman's hermits. his classic hits include: "im in to something good," "ms. brown, you've got a lovely daughter," "im henry the 8th i am," "there's a kind of hush," "cant you hear my heart beat." ok ok...so i didnt actually recognize him, but my captain informed me, and pete and i are now friends.
as i walk in the door to my home sweet home, my friends ask, how was work?
oh, you know. it was good.