A joyous, somber occasion

This weekend, we mourned the passing of my friend and roomate's youth as she laid to rest forever her 20s. Welcome to your (gasp!) 30's, Red!

The guests showed funeral style, wearing all black. I'd post my picture, but I was so tired of being called "goth Barbie" that I decided not to post that shot. (Beauty tip for all the girlies out there: If you happen to be a smiley-faced blondie such as myself and wear all black with goth make up, don't expect to be taken seriously. That look just doesn't work for us. I will totally be wearing a black wig for Halloween.)

Here's a look at some of our morbid decor. Notice the vulture on the shelf staring down the food table. Actually, I think he was staring down all of us old people.

I've heard that the mind and eye sight are the first thing to go with old age. Who would expect to find them in the bloody punch bowl, though?

The cake was awesomely designed by Ash. I can't tell you how refreshing I find it to see zombies and cemeteries outside of Halloween.

Here's a close up of the tombstone which reads, Here Lies Red's Youth. I think the zombie breaking out of the grave accurately represents her unwillingness to let go of her youth without a fight.

She wanted a cake that read, "Return of the Living 29". But that was just way too long.

This party was all in good fun. Some of us have a hard time dealing with hitting the big 3-0, but Red was mostly in good spirits and making jokes about her trip down hill to eventually meet the Grim Reaper with the rest of us. My friend, Sexy Suburbanite, also hit this milestone over the weekend and she is celebrating entering this decade of her life. I think we should all view the different phases of life this way.

Looking back, my 30th birthday was not a happy occasion. I did not handle it well at all. I didn't want to talk to anyone, see anyone, or be even in the same vicinity as anyone. The problem with that was that I turned 30 on Thanksgiving Day. It was impossible to avoid people on this stinking holiday so I choked back tears most of the day. I didn't feel old. I felt the same way I did the night before when it was 11:45 and I was still technically 29 and closing my eyes tight so that I would not see the clock strike midnight. It wasn't the growing older aspect that bothered me, but the lack of accomplished goals that I had set to reach by this age. Clearly, I couldn't live up to my own standards. My Thanksgiving prayers sounded something much like this: "Dear God, on this Thanksgiving Day, I have no family of my own and no real career. I don't want to see anyone today, but since you made my birthday fall on Thanksgiving, I have to see EVERYBODY. So uh, yeah, thanks for nothing."

Let me just say that I am SO happy that I don't feel that way any more. My time after hitting thirty has been nothing but fun. If I had it to do all over again, I would hit the big 3-0 with a smile on my face just the way Red and Sexy Suburbanite did.

Living with Red

Here's a snippet of a conversation I had with my friend and roomate Red last night:

Me: "Yes, he is very sweet and a gentleman, but he's just TOO YOUNG for me!"

Red: "But he's mature, has a good job, and owns his own house! And you're not going to give him a chance because of his age???"

Me: "I know but..."

Red: "They can't be too old. They can't be too young. You've got too many requirements to date you!"

Me: "Well, I'm just not settling with anyone!"

Red: "You're too picky! You have to have more info on them than the CIA!"

Me: "I know! I can't help it!"

Then Red, the girl who so oftens breaks into my phone conversations with a, "Are you talking to your boyfriend again?" or "You're talking to another one?" or lovingly calls me "ho", came up with the best one liner ever.

After exhaling a giant sigh, she exclaimed, "Damn! It's easier to get into the Pentagon than into your pants!"

This is just a typical conversation on a typical day living with Red. I'm so lucky to be loved like this.

Here's the photos from my Yellowstone safari...


Moose sighting! This poor moose was trying to cross the road but then a bunch of people got in its face and scared it. I am happy to report that this was the only time Best Friend and I had to yell at anyone in the national park. Usually, we get mad at many people that we do not see fit to be in the outdoors around the wildlife, so I'm extremely proud that we didn't run across too many idiots--especially in YELLOWSTONE!!! (This pic. was taken with my zoom lens from a distance as not to disturb the animal. This is proper national park etiquette, by the way, to prevent Best Friend or I from yelling at you.)


Another Black Bear encounter! This makes my 9th bear encounter. I guess I still have the magic!










Antelope at sunrise.











Buffalo crossing the Yellowstone River. This was one of the coolest things I have seen in the wild! I felt like I was watching a Discovery Channel show on those Water Buffalo in Africa and I kept expecting a croc to take one down...only it was Wyoming not Africa and they were regular buffalo not the water variety and there were no crocodiles and it wasn't on TV. But still very cool!



Sunset over the Madison River.






And so here are a few shots from Utah....

This was taken somewhere in American Fork Canyon. It's hard to believe that everything was so green despite the hot, dry weather.









SCB looks like he's trying to keep Best Friend from jumping off this cliff in Farmington Canyon.





On the summit of Bountiful Peak. This was moments before meeting my friend rattlesnake. I don't look very happy in this photo but I'm not sure why. Maybe it was a premonition of the sickening encounter about to take place.





Here with my fellow blog buddy, the Grunt. I made him play my self portrait game where you must set up the camera and then beat the self timer by striking a pose in 10 seconds. I love that game!

Back home

I'm back from Utah and rather than doing laundry, cleaning up, and completing other important chores, I have been catching up on blogs, reading my email, and seeking forgiveness from my cat who totally snubs me every time I go away on vacation. By the way, thanks to those of you who left me comments on my last post, you rock!

My trip was great, for the most part. I went on some scenic drives up a couple of canyons I had never explored before. On one of these rides, I got out of the vehicle and climbed a short, steep trail to the summit of Bountiful Peak. I did this from a suggestion of a friend and loved the views. While standing at the top I was grateful to my friend for his suggestion. Then on my way down the trail I saw my first Western Diamondback Rattlesnake which shook its nasty rattle at me! I miraculously did not pass out but immediately began to curse my friend and his suggestion. That only lasted until I was swept away by more scenic views. (But he totally had to hear about it!)

We also went to Yellowstone to parts that I had not yet been to. We sort of did a Yellowstone animal safari. I was disappointed that I didn't see any wolves but saw some bison crossing the river (that was cool!), moose, elk, antelope, and as always when it comes to me, bears! I got some pretty good shots of the animals, so I considered this safari a success. Next time, I will see a pack of wolves.

The best part of my trip was seeing and catching up with my friends. There were still a couple that I didn't get to visit and they will be at the top of my list next visit. I did get to spend time with most of my friends though, including the Grunt, who really showed me a great time. We ate good food, took a fun drive through the mountains which lead to some four-wheelin'-yee-haw fun, and topped it off with The Simpsons movie. He's a cool guy, even if I did hold him responsible for my rattlesnake run-in. ;)

My vacation was great right until the very end. I developed this cough and congestion that is driving me (one who rarely catches colds) nuts. I am feeling better now, just a little stuffy nose remaining. But the worst part was not the sickness I had, but that Best Friend's grandma, the beloved lady that I also call my adoptive grandma, became quite ill just before I left. The worst part is her doctor and nurses seem to be uncaring idiots with no bedside manner at all. Anyway, I didn't even get to tell her goodbye yesterday morning before I left. I sat at my plane's gate at the airport blinking back tears, hoping that no one would look me in the eye or else I would cry. The good news is she seems to be doing better today.

Over all, there was way more good than bad happenings on my trip. And, as usual, I have the photos to prove it, so I will be posting them very soon.

Going away again

That's right, folks. I'm outta here tomorrow. I'm going to Utah again for a couple of weeks. Even I, the master trip planner, don't know what all I will be doing on this vacation. It's a fly by the seat of my pants kind of trip.

Hopefully, I will come back with some interesting tales to share.

I most likely won't have internet access for the two weeks, so I'll be MIA until I get back. So please everyone, leave me some love here so that I will feel missed while I'm away. I'm counting on you all! I expect to find a record breaking number of concerned and loving comments here when I come home. (So that will be about what? 20 comments or so to break the record for me?)

Take care everyone.

Friday the 13th Camping...

I went camping this weekend with my family on Friday the 13th. There was no Jason and all of us came out of the trip alive. I was, however, a little worried that it might have turned a little scary...camping with the family, that is. Spending time with family members--especially the parents--in tents in the middle of the forest (with very few witnesses around) could turn far scarier than anything Jason or Freddy could hash out!

It turned out to not be very scary after all and we had fun. (I did, of course, set up my own tent not to be shared with those other crazy people.) I went hiking, biking, and fishing the whole weekend. I discovered a new favorite cliff-side fishing hole that I enjoyed because I felt that being so high up made me invisible to the fishes. Well, that and there was a small waterfall next to it that I could play in once I became bored.

This was nothing like the primitive camping that Best Friend and I are used to. I mean there was actually an established CAMPGROUND and you could see other PEOPLE! Still the beauty along the Tallulah River and the gorge is awesome and you must travel down a long, winding dirt road deep into the Chattahoochee National Forest to get there. Traveling only a few miles down the dirt past our campsite will lead you into North Carolina, but not before traveling through impressive Tate City with only about 6 houses and a whopping population of 32 (give or take)! Tate City cracked me up and we all had a good, long laugh about it.

If you can imagine what it would be like to run across a "city" in the forest, then imagine what it would be like to be sitting in your campsite in the forest and then hear what sounds like carnival music growing louder. I was wondering if Tate City had set up a fairground for it's 30 residents until I realized that it was not a fair, but an ice cream truck pulling into the campground! At first I was taken back by my wilderness experience being tarnished by such a civilized act as ice cream delivery. But that only lasted a moment. This was ICE CREAM, my kryptonite, my diet spoiler, after all!!! HELL YEAH!!! It seemed that I would not have to suffer through two whole days without ice cream after all! Now if only Grand Teton and Yosemite National Parks would just get on board with this program, I might just consider taking a longer backpacking trip next time.
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Here's your grand tour of Tate City! Welcome! If you want, you can just move in to one of the 6 houses and become a resident. Our sign allows for an additional person to move in (or die).

There's grand sites to see like this barn. Anyone who lived in the Southeast along Interstate 75 and Interstate 24 about 20 years ago can appreciate (and find humor in) this knock off of the famous "See Rock City" barns. Those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, give me a sympathy chuckle and move right along...

There's fine shopping at Tate City. Click on this photo to check out the mall! The Pots To Piss In Outlet store is to die for!

And there are also incredible day trips to North Carolina available! This unfortunately concludes the tour of Tate City.

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Self portrait time! It was a difficult task to set my camera on self timer, jump off that boulder, and wade my way across the river before the 10 seconds were up on the timer.

My aunt and dad fishing along the Tallulah River.

My other aunt and my mom weren't into fishing, though.

On one of my hikes I found this really cool snail...

and these pretty cool mushrooms.

Back at camp, we were cold so dad started this roaring fire. It was no where near the quality nor as long-lasting as my excellent fire building skills produce. And I don't cheat by using lighter fluid. Bad Daddy!

And last but certainly not least in my opinion, the ice cream truck! Yay for wilderness ice cream!!!!

Talk to your cat about catnip

(See the post below to fully understand the importance of catnip education.)