ray

the first time i heard of ray lamontagne was with my best friend hannah...we were doing invisible children and someone had put the song "trouble" on a mix cd for her. we would blast that song in our van slash home. belting out the lyrics "TROUBLE... TROUBLE TROUBLE TROUBLE." ha. it was like therapy. especially in times of heavy traffic.
that is when i first fell in love with ray.
and so 3 years later i saw him in concert in england with some friends.
so good.
the second time was on tuesday in denver.
both times were in an opera house setting, which is always fun, but sometimes a little impersonal. how amazing it would be to see him at the walnut room or some small venue.
anyway, i would like to become one of his groupies. follow him where ever he goes.
watch this.

and this is exactly the reason why...

my little sister is definitely my dad's daughter. she wears cowboy boots and goes to gun shows. she loves country music and ever since i can remember she has been obsessed with horses. she owns four. four horses! every morning is spent feeding them. every weekend is spent riding them at westernairs. i support her hobby from a distance. honestly horses scare me a little bit. i dont mind a causal ride, but i dont like it when they run! and i dont really know what im doing. soooo...the other day my friend matt wanted to ride. i told my sister i would come if i could ride on the back with her and she said that was fine. there werent really any rules since she was in control, basically just hold on and whatever you do, DO NOT put pressure under his stomach by his back legs. ok. i can handle that. apparently the horse will buck if you kick him in that certain spot, so the whole time i was completely conscious of where my legs were. we go for a casual ride at sunset. i was totally enjoying myself. until...
we are almost home, and there is a little area that went downhill and im not really sure if i put my legs in the wrong spot or exactly what happened, but all i know is our horse, blitz, started bucking. and spinning, and bucking and im yelling. and we were flung off the horse and the next i knew we were laying on the ground and blitz had ran away. while i checked on jackie, matt went chasing after blitz. jackie was whining and in pain. but conscious. i asked her what hurt, she said her hip. we just laid there as i tried calling dad. after a few minutes matt comes back riding woody (the horse we was riding) and he had blitz!!! jackie got up and jumped on the horse. just fine. they rode back to the house together and....well....i walked. i cant believe i almost gave in to the enjoyment of horse back riding.

scrapbooks

so, with moving comes the inevitable realization of how much crap you own. the whole "nothing to wear" feeling, turns into a more guilty feeling when you found 3 similar purple shirts. shoot. so im sorting through all my belongings, making a give away pile that will first go through my sisters and mom before it gets to a thrift store. or maybe throw one of those parties where you invite all your girlfriends over and their unwanted clothes and you just throw all the clothes in the middle and everyone goes through them, see if they want anything. and then whatever is left can be taken to good will. great idea.
anyways, i came across all my scrapbooks. i thought i had like 4 or 5...no theres like 9 or 10. i mean i remember i liked doing it, but dang! i havent done it in couple years, i think im done. its fun to be creative and i love doing art projects (not that i am good at them) but i think its time to turn my hobby over to technology. keep my all my pictures online. print out a few for frames. printing out EVERY picture and sometimes getting doubles! is just not very realistic anymore. it will be hard because im obsessed with pictures, but i think i should save my scrapbooking skills for only the very special occasions :)

for all you non-revers...

flying is stressful.
and flying standby is more stressful.
its the price you pay for a cheaper ticket i guess!
so here is a word from the wise to all of you non-revers...

step 1....getting there:
if you are leaving from a large airport (DIA, ORD) try to get there at least one hour and 45 minutes before hand. you cant be too sure how long the lines are and if you are taking united express the gates are at the very end of the concourse in den. it can be a 15 min walk after you get off the train! also some of my friends have had "extra" security screening. if you are leaving from a small airport (fresno, des moines, etc) be there at least one hour before. that is usually plenty of time.

what to bring...
dont check your bag. it might get lost and if you are non-rev then you most likely wont get it back (they barely pay attn to paying costumers!) and also you might not get on the flight (but your bag will). so learn to pack light! and no liquids over THREE ounces. you can stuff a quart size plastic bag (if you dont have it in a bag you get extra screening). and sometimes ive tried putting some liquids in my purse and some in my main bag...so i can take more and they havent noticed ;) if you need travel size anything...let me know :) you are only allowed 2 carry ons....so take a normal size roller bag and a big purse. if you are on united express you might have to "check" your bag at the gate. its fine, just do whatever they say. it will be on the jet bridge for you when you to your next place.
bring your ID obviously. you should be listed and everything when you get to your ticket counter. so you will just need your ID.
if you are going out of the country - you will need your passport. i would recommend making a copy of your passport. also if you dont travel out of the country often... then tell your bank!!! its not fun when you get there and dont have $. transfer some money $30-$40 bucks at the airport until you find an ATM. be careful taking a taxi anywhere and always be aware of your surroundings. look smart! (hello - the movie taken!)
(oh also, bring a sweatshirt or blanket for the plane - blankets and pillows on planes are so gross).


suck up....
to the customer service agent! this is your key to getting on because they have all the power. so be nice!! :) really nice. like complement their hair and stuff. and look nice. as a non-rev you are not supposed to wear jeans, tennis shoes, t-shirts, or flip flops. they say that you are "representing the company"...whatever. but also you could get first class and some customer service agents wont let you on if you are not dressed right.

if you dont get on....
that sucks. just kidding. i mean i have had friends stuck places for days! but most get on that day. try for the first flight of the day if you can and then good luck. if you dont get on that flight talk to the csa and they will list you for the next one....i recommend not even trying if the flight looks bad and the flights always look bad during the holidays and the busy season. fridays and sundays seem to be busy too.

so there it is...all my secrets to a less stressful vacation.
bon voyage!!!

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