Today, I am thankful...

Ok, I'll admit, this is somewhat inspired by Facebook... (Is it bad that I have a Facebook, MySpace, AND a Blog??) One of my friends decided to list something every day that they are thankful for until Thanksgiving, saying that they think it will get harder with time... I'm not sure about it getting harder, but I'll give it a whirl... I'm feeling pretty thankful this week, so forgive me if I'm excessive in posts...

Day One
Today, I am thankful not only for God's lessons, but especially for His gentle lessons. I had lunch with a friend the other day, and her brother has fallen into some hard times. Actually, it's probably more appropriate to say he dug himself into some hard times-- very hard, the kind he may never recover from. I look back at how careless (idiotic? crazy? stupid??) I was when I was younger, and I am grateful that although God brought me to my knees so He could lift me up again, He never let me fall flat on my face. There are many, many times I deserved to learn lessons the hard way, and I am so grateful for the grace I received!

I'm also grateful for Midol :) Hahahaha

Day Two
Today, I am thankful that when we drew names for our office Christmas party, I did NOT draw my boss! Yippeeeee!! (Don't take this wrong-- our gifts are no-price-limit, and my boss has everything.) :)

Day Three
Today, I am thankful for my AWESOME SISTER who just had a birthday! We are basically one person who somehow manages to walk around in two separate bodies... We think the same things at the same times, show up at the same places with the same outfits on, and had even planned to get each other the same things for Christmas (Harry Potter books)!! :) I am so glad to have someone who knows me inside out and can understand every little weird part of me-- because she's just the same. I love you sister!

Days Four & Five
This weekend, I am thankful for my family's holiday traditions. One of my favorite days of the year is when all the girls get together, put up the tree, have strawberry daquiris or white russians, and spend thee day laughing. It is the perfect way to start out the holidays. Also, new this year, we're starting a progressive dinner this year, which will be a fun new tradition, but wih something different-- this will be one of the first holidays where my generation of the family will be doing part of the entertaining! The first and last course of the meal are at my sister's house and my house. Hopefully the "kiddos" pull it off ok!

Day Six
Today, I am very, very, very thankful for COFFEE and for Rick, who always gets to work first and makes the strongest coffee ever! Seriously, you could stand up a spoon int this stuff.

Day Seven
Today, and everyday, I am thankful that my boyfriend is a handyman! This morning, I woke up to sit on a non-wobbly, non-leaky potty (sorry, TMI), turned on the shower with a fully-functional knob, and closed off the new blinds in the living room. He is my light-bulb changer, my hole-driller, and my lifter-of-heavy-things. And I LOVE it!

P.S. Honey... when are you coming back... some belt thing fell off my dishwasher :)

Day Eight
Today, I am thankful for time OFF WORK!! I love my job, and the people at it, but getting of at noon is AWESOME!! As is a 4 1/2 day weekend.

I am thankful I have a place to go for Thanksgiving. In fact, I am thankful that this year I have two places to fit in! It's not a hassle, like some people pretend... it's just more food, fun, & family-- how could that be a hassle? And I'm thankful for my stepdad, who always picks up two airmen from the base who couldn't get home and shows them a really fun time. I am thankful for my mom, who does SO much of Thanksgiving all alone, and never complains.

I am TOTALLY thankful for broccoli rice casserole & mashed potatos! (Yes, fitness instructors DO eat like that sometimes!)

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! In the work, and the hustle, and the stress caused by a house full of people, don't forget to be thankful :)

Sin City... and Beyond!

After a couple of hours of uploading and editing last night, I finally got my Vegas pics up! I'll go ahead and start the play-by-play...

Ryan and I were supposed to leave Saturday morning... but, if you read my last blog, you have learned that boys don't like to plan! So we ended up leaving Friday night, around 10 pm... I finished my packing in five minutes! I was so proud! We drove through West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada... I drove from 1am to 9:30 am-- again, so proud! Here are a few pictures from the journey...

This was one of...ten stops for gas? Maybe more, I lost count!

Ryan knew I'd never driven to Vegas before-- only flew-- so he took me over the Hoover Dam on the way there... Damn good tour! Haha

We arrived sometime Saturday afternoon. I say "sometime" because between starting the drive at 10 and staying up all night... watching the sunrise... the two hour time change while driving... the anticipation of the one hour "fall back" on Sunday... well, I spent half the trip trying to figure out what time or even day it was! Then we cleaned the trucks and relaxed with Jared and Zac in Zac's parent's nice house.

.......Actually, come to think of it, we pretty much just did that for about three days!

I'm guessing Zac and Jared had opened the beer to celebrate our arrival...?? Maybe not!

All smiles-- VERY happy to be out of the car at last!

How many men does it TAKE to man a baby grill??

A sweet old man from next door made friends with us! He gave us discounts to eat at a good casino buffet and gave the boys a whole handful of stogies-- including some real Cubans! The boys were in heaven!

Next, it was off to check the trucks into SEMA and go to the show for four days! Lots of walking. Ryan has informed me that because of all the photshoots that went on while we were there, it isn't a good idea to post pictures of the trucks on the internet... Which kind of sucks, because I got some good ones!! Oh well. Here are a few more fun ones, instead...

Had to take this one... Jared's underwear seemed to be perpetually showing!!

Ryan, however, had a different problem... Someone buy that kid a belt!!

This is Ryan, being interviewed by the crew at K&N!! I'm not sure what K&N does or makes, but whatever it is, they gave Ryan a free one for his truck. :) The interview went great! Ryan is a natural in front of the camera-- who wouldn't be with that handsome face?!

Had to get a pic in our matching R&R shirts :)

Car of the future.... Or egg with wings?

This was funny... Nitrous Express, who partners with the guys on their SEMA projects, is trying to get into the energy drink business (as most racing companies do...). The owner gave us samples of his "NX" energy drink and told us to "be honest" about the taste, since it was still in development... Well I took a swig of my sugar-free version, and the only way I can "honestly" describe it: take the stinkiest sock you've ever smelled. Squeeze in a rotten mango, and swirl that taste in some carbonated water... Voila! NX Energy drink! Haha Of course we said it was wonderful, and the boys posed for a little promo pic.

Thug! (aka "Buddy") is Adam's dog... the most laid-back dog ever!

These next few are from the pre-run in California... We got to go "play" in the sand, as Nicole, the owner of Total Chaos, put it. It was an absolute BLAST. We got in the boys' trucks and a pro race truck to roll up and down hills in sand dunes, fly over hills (all four wheels in the air!) and cruise 90+ mph over rocky, hilly terrain. I LOVED it! Above is Nicole and the boys-- she was totally "bitchin"-- a word she managed to use every few minutes. Also, I've never witnessed someone use the f-bomb in so many forms-- adjective, noun, verb, etc.-- the way she did!

All of us with the Total Chaos crew

Me! About to go have the time of my life!

The sunset at the end of that day.

Like I said, can't post truck pics yet... I got some great action shots, so I'll email if you want to see them! It was a fun trip... but DANG, I'm glad to be back home in Texas!

Vegas, baby.....

I am officially back in Texas!! And BOY, am I glad to be home... Last week, I tagged along with Ryan and crew (starring Jared and Zac, with supporting rolls being played by Chris and Adam) for their yearly voyage to Las Vegas for the 2009 SEMA show. I have tons of details and pics to follow, but as I'm fresh off a 22-hour drive (STRAIGHT, no sleep!!), my brain is mush, so those will all have to wait... Also, my desk apparently became an inbox while I was away, and I'm sure my boss would appreciate my getting to work!
However, to tide you over for now, I'll just share a few things I learned during two 20+ hour drives, a week in Sin City with four young men, a random trip to California, and my first "Pre-run"!

I have learned...

...when sharing a bathroom with three men, ALWAYS be awake first. Also, ALWAYS be first to get into the bathroom after a lunch of Mexican or dinner of Hibachi!

... young men do not plan-- period-- for ANYTHING-- so do not expect this. Chris (the "matured" one) gives me SOME hope this changes with age... but not much.

... when Ryan Landiak says, "That won't work; do it this way," or "That's going to break if you do it like that," or even "My stomach hurts," you should LISTEN!! (Luckily, I already knew that, more or less, so I suffered few consequences.)

... you can learn a good deal about a person from 20+ hours on the road. You can learn a good deal MORE about them by observing them for one week in "Sin City."

... on road trips, men have to stop to pee MORE often than girls! It's a common misconception that women are always the ones needing to stop... Not so! It's the guys! I think this little myth must have originated from the fact that the whole world is a man's toilet-- he doesn't need to "stop to pee"; he can stop "to get gas (and pee)" or "to eat (and pee)" or "check the tire pressure (and pee)". Women, don't let your men fool you any longer! And don't let them give you a hard time when you demand a potty! It's not our fault we're anatomically disadvataged when it comes to relief on road trips! (And NO, we are NOT physically able to go in a bottle!!!!)

... also on the subject of road trips with men... don't be fooled into letting them tell you to "pack light." I packed two, yes TWO bags for ten days gone-- including SEMA clothes, go-out clothes, pj's, workout clothes (unused, by the way), camping clothes for 90 degree weather, camping clothes for 40 degree weather... All this in TWO bags-- and not one man there had less than THREE!! The next man who mandates I should pack "light" will get a light middle finger :)   (Not really, Mom, you know I'm a lady!!)

Well, off to work! I will hopefully have pics and a few stories up tomorrow!
Oh, and one last thing I learned...

...Vegas is NOT for couples!!!