Almost Heaven, West Virginia...

Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River….

Hot Damn, isn’t it great that just the thought of John Denver can put a smile on your face? What? It didn’t put a smile on your face? Okay, just the thought of John Denver puts a smile on MY face. And probably Anne’s. And Kari’s too!

I was a real live Mountain Mamma this weekend- I went to West Virginia!! J and I went skiing at Snowshoe for the three day weekend and had a lovely time. I was prepared for crappy ski conditions, as I was advised that all snow on this side of the country is pretty much 100% pure garbage, but really- it wasn’t too bad. Not great, but ski-able. The double black diamond runs were closer to hefty blue squares in my book, and there was a fair amount of man-made snow, but it did the trick.

And here’s what put me over into the “I’d ski there again” category: The West Virginians.

Seriously the nicest people- as a whole- that I’ve ever encountered. Real salt of the earth types. Sure, our waitresses generally had sideburns that reminded me of my grandfather in the early 80’s, but what they lacked in fashion and dental hygiene, they made up for in good-hearted wholesomeness. No other way to word it.

I’m looking forward to going back there in summer- I predict that it will be a beautiful drive when everything is alive a green. Daphne will also appreciate a return trip to her homeland. I don’t know that she really has roots in WV, but I’d like to think that she does.

So aside from skiing, there was soaking in the hot tub after said skiing (much needed), Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture (at which I totally RULE!), eating of good food, and watching of Olympic level curling, bobsledding and ice dancing.

Ah- there was also a flash lesson in auto care and maintenance, as my car wouldn’t start on Sunday or Monday morning- well, it did start, but not without heavy prompting, channeling of positive vibes and looking through the owner’s manual with a crooked brow. I think it was one part old battery that “needs replaced” (as they say in WV) and one part FRIGGEN FREEZING cold outside in the mornings. As in… my entire car was frozen solid because I parked in the shade. So cold that when I released the clutch after trying to start the car, it stayed completely engaged. Guess that’s why they plug in their cars in Alaska… Or maybe my battery just never fully recovered after “The Great Stuck- on-Snoqualmie-Pass-With-Lisa-Whilst-Running-All-Accessories-on-Full-Blast Capers of ‘05”??? The world will never know…

In any case, a trip to Sears is in order this weekend. And not the Softer Side. I hear DieHard’s are the way to go.

Is this irony or just plain crap?

J is supposed to be driving a desk these days, pushing paper etc. We just got to DC about a month ago (well, I did at least, he's been here for about 2 months). We're finally unpacked for the most part, I found a job that I like, things have been going swimmingly. This was supposed to be our time to finally be normal young people in love...

But he found out yesterday that he's getting deployed again. For a year. And he leaves soon. I have milk in the refrigerator that expires after he leaves. This time, he won't be on a ship traveling around through bad-guy waters, but actually on land in bad-guyville. You can imagine how thrilling this is to me.

As much as I've been wanting to scream "BUT YOU CAN'T DO THAT- THAT'S NOT THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO GO!! HE JUST GOT HOME!" I realize that it really doesn't matter how/why/who this is all coming from. Regardless of why its happening, or how incredibly... not fair... it is, it's happening. And it very well could turn me into a bitter, bitter person. In theory, I should get pissed, I should be bitter, I should lead the protest march. I should help stick the "Step Down Bush" stickers all over DC.

But I don't want to be bitter and mad because that's not who I am. I like being happy. And I need that trait right now more than ever. I'll be damned if THIS ("this" being a very broad term here) is going to change my core. I've learned that, for me at least, having the capacity to be pissed at "The Man" is a luxury I don't have. For now at least.

And in response to a comment left on my last entry, yes, I did like McDreamy when he was just a nerd in Can't Buy Me Love. Duh...

Valentine's Day Observation

I stopped into Rite Aid today on my way home from work today(Oh yeah, the new job is going really well by the way- totally overwhelmed, but in a good way. I think.) to get a card for J. Granted, tomorrow is Valentine's day, but really, who needs more than a day of lead/prep time to buy a card?

I was irked to see that all of the cards for men including the "Love, for him" and "For Husband" etc were pretty well picked-over. Only some cheesy ones left. Then when I did find one that was okay, I couldn't find a matching envelope for it... (It was oblong).


Interestingly enough, the cards "For My Wife" "Romantic- For her" were completely well-stocked. And looked as though they hadn't been touched.

Not entirely surprising.


So readers, what are y'all doing for Valentine's Day? And if you respond with "Nothing- its just a holiday created by the greeting card industry to make us feel that spending money on our loved ones is the only way to show how much we care!" Please, be honest- do you really feel that way, or is that the opinion that you've had to adopt in order to avoid pending disappointment?

Huh. that was uneventful

Okay we lost, even though we played what many would consider, a better game. I found the whole thing entirely anti-climactic. Perhaps a product of being a Cougar fan where we blow big leads in the last minute in heart-breaking, but exciting (for the other team) losses.

I found myself saying, "well, there are 3 minutes to go and... looks like there's no way we could win. Darn."


But how 'bout those Stones?!? Sheesh! I never thought I'd say this, but I think Mic and Keith might be in better cardiovascular health than me. Or anyone I know for that matter.

Even the commercials weren't all that glorious. I did like the streaking lamb and the little colt trying to pull the Budweiser wagon. What was your favorite?

Off to watch Grey's Anatomy.

Future blog topic: Saw Brokeback Mountain this weekend and fear that my new fascination with Jake Gillinthal might be stronger than my feelings for Dr. McDreamy. I'm shocked.

Kidding!!

Perhaps I should have clarified in my most recent post...

Of COURSE I'm kidding about my money being transfered to a no-access-by-me account! It was just a little joke... perhaps not so funny in some situations, but when we're talking about gina-money-maven-palooza, its at least... silly.

Now I really want to comment about me starting to assume responsibility for his child-support payments- at least until he starts working again, or collecting on that disability claim... But I won't. Becuase some women really DO do things like that.

And no, he doesn't have any children... That he knows of.

The end is near

The end of sleeping in everyday and not having to go to work every morning that is.

It looks as thought I'll be starting a new J-O-B next week, and while I'm happy about it, as I think its a good fit, I'll miss my early DC days, and all of the long walks and daytime television programming that it brought to my life.

I was even able to watch Days of Our Lives two days in a row, and (not) surprisingly enough, was able to pick up right where I left off back Junior high... And yes, it seems that Marlena Evans is once again, brainwashed. Not sure if it (again) was all the work of The Evil Stephano (who has likely died and come back to life at least a few times in the past 10-15 years) but its still the making of good TV.

On a seperate note, J and I have recently opened a joint checking account with which to pay our joint expenses, (he's having me do direct deposit of all of my pay check into it, and is taking out about 90% of it each month and putting it into a special account I don't have access to "for our future," this is a good idea right?? No silly...) and the checks arrived yesterday. The first set was free. This sounded fine until I got them, looked at them, and found that the free checks are kind of a sample-pack of about 5 popular styles that we can choose in the future. A good idea in theory, until I realized that an Anne Geddes design is included, which means that every 5th check we now write will have BABIES IN GD FLOWER POTS on them...

Hey, that sorority girl from 1998 called: she wants her checks back! Good lord...

So on that happy note, here's a little somethin' for y'all. Have a super day. And remember, shoot for the moon. 'Cause even if you miss, you'll still be among the stars!!