Car Karma...

Today... I sold my car!  No big deal, right?  Not quite.  First of all, this means that I don't have a car now.  [Thankfully, due to my incredibly amazing parents, I have a car to drive until we buy something else.]  Secondly, this was MY car.  Not a car my parents bought for me when I got my license, not my best friend's hand-me-down car, or my husband's car.... MY car.  My money bought it, my name was on the title, my memories adding up to thousands of miles on the odometer.

[sappy moment over now, momentarily]

With that said, Kirmy [my former car's name], was a temperamental, attention seeking, bi-polar jerk.  He was used when I got him, so it is expected that there would be some kinks in his performance... but Kirmy did not make life easy.  In the last year alone I can't even count on two hands the number of things we had to repair and replace.  It was also a special talent of his to magically stop making a funny noise, or to not have the check engine light on, or to run perfectly whenever I took him to my dad or uncle for help.

However, my dad has reminded me that over the years I have had incredibly good "Car Karma".  The first car I owned was a little, red, Mitsubishi Mirage that my Uncle picked up [Auction, Swap Meet, or something of the sort] and fixed up for me.  There were dings in the side, a broken radio and no horn because the airbag had been deployed and left a hole in the steering wheel... but I loved it!  I'm not sure if I loved it because of the color, because it was cheap [and I didn't have to pay for it], OR because I knew it was a LOT nicer than what I could have ended up with... my sister, Rachel, drove an old Plymouth Acclaim 'Granny Car' when she first got her license.  Mimi the Mitsubishi served me well all through high school and took me to college, too.  Sadly, she wouldn't make it through my freshman year.

On November 3rd, 2006 [yes, I remember the day] I left early in the morning to head home.  First disclaimer: I am an *excellent* multi-tasker [currently watching tv, writing a blog, listening to Dustin talk, and laughing at Porter], second disclaimer: one should NEVER attempt to multi-task while driving.  Just after passing Walla Walla I was in need of a new CD and went to switch it out.  When I grabbed a new one to put into the CD player I dropped it and it fell onto the floor of the passenger side of the car.  Apparently, thinking that I possessed 'go-go gadget arms' I decided to reach for the lost CD.  Unfortunately, when I leaned over to grab the CD, I pulled the wheel with me, sending me off the right side of the road... which wouldn't have been too bad, except that I over corrected, crossed the oncoming lane of traffic and started to go off the other side of the road/embankment... which also wouldn't have been the end of the world, except that I attempt to correct again, which sent my car flipping [not rolling, flipping, according to an on-looker].

Now this is where the Car Karma comes into play.  My car 'flipped' 4 times.  The contents of my car were strewn about EVERYWHERE [including the dirty laundry I was packing home to wash in a machine that didn't require quarters to operate].  The front, right wheel was bent sideways [the hubcap was flat on the ground], as was one of the rear wheels. There was a hole in the roof directly above the driver's seat.  There was a boulder about the size of a soccer ball that magically appeared inside my car.  And, suffice to say, most of the exterior body was dented in some way or another.

And how did I come out, you ask?  [Are you remembering earlier when I mentioned my car didn't have an airbag anymore?] -- I had a small bruise on the back of my right hip, a small scratch on my right hand, and a small scratch on my forehead.

When my dad came to pick me up, after an officer drove me back into Walla Walla, we went to look at my poor Mimi who had been transported to a local salvage yard.  While we were gathering items out of my dead car, the employee made the comment to my dad that he sincerely hoped the driver would be okay.  When my dad pointed to me, saying that I had been driving the car, the man looked at me in disbelief and said that I had better thank my guardian angel... because he had never seen someone walk away from a wreck like that.

So even though Kirmy had his bad moments, and my hand-me-down car from Keicia didn't last too long, I'm reminded that *overall* I've had amazing Car Karma.  Even though I was in a seemingly bad accident, my car took the whole of the damage, most likely saving my life.  Now, when we start looking for a new car for me, I can only hope that my Car Karma will continue to stay positive.... and that my guardian angel can find me in my new car, too!

A Tribute

If you know me well, or have even glanced at my facebook page, you know that I have a dog... and have never loved an animal so much in my life.  Anyone who has a dog, especially their first, knows that a dog is not simply a pet.  A dog is your child... with fur.  When they play, we laugh; when they sleep, we swoon; when they do tricks, we marvel at their intelligence; when they do ANYTHING remotely cute we take a picture and share it with the world.  To those without dogs, it might seem like we're obsessed... but I think we're just in love.  Puppy love.

It is because our dogs are so loved, as intricate parts of the family, that we are so affected by them.  When they are sick or have surgery, it's disheartening having to sit idly by.  And when we suffer the loss of their life, it feels as though a piece of our hearts has been torn out.

       

Sadly, doggie heaven recently welcomed a new soul... my furry nephew, Bosun.  While he wasn't here in our world nearly long enough, you better believe that he had an amazingly wonderful life!  Keicia and Eric were the best mumsy and daddy a puppy could have asked for.  He had tons of toys, his own lifejacket for trips to the river, a warm spot on the couch [when Eric wasn't looking], a taste for coffee [when Keicia wasn't looking], a love of ANYTHING you were eating [including Oreos], a love of car rides, and was incredibly loved by everyone around him.  Nobody could go by without looking at that handsome [maybe a little [c]hunky] boy.

While we can't yet fully believe that he's gone, we know that doggie heaven is a better place with his presence and that our lives were all better with his playfulness, drool, farts and barks in it.  Everyone that met him will truly miss him and not soon forget his playful personality and loving spirit.

We will love and miss you forever, Bosun!

       

"It's just the most amazing thing to love a dog, isn't it?  It makes our relationships with people seem as boring as a bowl of oatmeal." -John Grogan

"Whoever said you can't buy Happiness forgot about puppies." -Gene Hill

"Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole."
-Roger Caras

"Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished." -Dean Koontz

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." -Will Rogers

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself."  -Josh Billings

       

"Whoever said that diamonds are a girl's best friend never had a dog"  -Anon

So if you are lucky enough to have a puppy in your life, heart, and family give them an extra treat, belly rub and kisses tonight.  They might not be able to tell you how much they love you in words, but every other action they take is overflowing with love for you...

Two and a half years later...

Timeless.  Classic.  Elegant.

These are a few of the words that I LOVE hearing when people talk about portraits and photographs... especially mine!  When Dustin and I got engaged we were lucky enough to have not one, but two, amazing photographers who wanted to be a part of our story and capture our special day[s] so that we would be able to treasure those memories forever.

Shannon, the artist behind fotonovella, is more than a photographer.  She takes time to really get to know her clients, truly becoming a part of their circle of friends and family.  To her, the story behind the couple is just as important as the moments unfolding in front of her lens.  Because of this, she is able to capture moments that perfectly represent the personalities, emotions and spirit of the individuals in front of her in just a single image.

When we selected our 'wedding package' it included several canvases.  We were able to choose any image from our engagement shoot or wedding day for any of the canvases.  This seems like a fun and easy process.... except when you have such talented photographers.  It was SO hard to narrow down our 'Love' list of pictures.  So hard, in fact, that we never did it!  We tried numerous times to sit down and pick out the pictures we wanted to have canvases of, but would always give up.  We were married 2.5 years ago, and only yesterday did we finalize our canvases (with a little extra help from Shannon)!

I think it speaks volumes that we can look at pictures from 2.5-3 years ago and still love them just as much today as we did the first time we saw them!  So even though it took us over two years to order our canvases, I know that we'll love them for years to come.  Thank you Shannon and Eric for helping us keep our memories alive forever through our beautiful photographs!

Retinal Migraines...

Once upon a time.... I went blind.  Not ACTUALLY, but partially [temporarily].  Thankfully, my vision came back and I thought nothing of it.  But then it happened a few more times over a period of time.  Most recently, last week, it happened again and lasted for nearly an hour.  I called my eye doctor and request a consult to see if there was something wrong with my eyes.  After a few additional questions [mostly family history] he concluded that the most likely scenario was that I have been experiencing "Ocular or Retinal Migraines".

Basically [not completely medically accurate], there is more than one type of migraine.  Most often when someone complains of a migraine they are referring to a terrible head-ache; a head-ache that often requires one to cancel plans, lay down in a dark room, or even become physically sick because of the head-ache or resulting effects.  However, [dun dun dun!!!!] there are other types of migraines!  An Retinal Migraine [sometimes referred to as 'migraine with aura' or 'ocular migraine'] is one that causes "visual disturbances".... flashing lights, black spot, loss of vision.... and is temporary.  Sounds super duper exciting, right?  Wrong.  Not so much.  If you want more information... the accurate, medical type... you can check here, or here, or even here.  Happy reading!

The one thing that I am thankful for, at this point, is that while I'm experiencing these 'visual disturbances' I have not been experiencing the horrible, debilitating headaches along with them [Insert confetti and excitement here!].  That is, assuming that I am actually having these retinal migraines and not something else.

Oh the joys of anatomy and biology... I hate science.

Strange [understatement] Dreams

I've decided that I should keep a dream journal...

If you know me well, you've probably [at least once] had the pleasure of hearing about the crazy, strange, sometimes even downright bizarre dreams that I experience.  On several occasions I've woken up, and muttered a few random descriptions of my latest dream to Dustin [lucky him?], only to later forget entirely what my dreams were about.  Other times, a dream has been SO strange that I can't help but remember many parts of it.  And my favorite, I must admit, are those off the wall dreams that include many of my friends or family members.  These are the dreams that I can't wait to share -- the more strange, the better!

So, back to my thought bubble about a dream journal:  I heard [or read, perhaps] that keeping a dream journal helps you to remember your dreams... and let's face it... most of us don't remember dreaming, let alone remember what they were about after a few hours have passed.  I seem to remember hearing [again... maybe I read it] that keeping a dream journal increases the chances of remembering your dreams because you are making a conscious effort, declaration if you will, to remember your dreams because you have an intent to relay them.

............Blogger decided to randomly sign me out and lose half of this post, so be nice if it isn't too pretty!

I REALLY want to remember more of my dreams, so I'm making the decision [officially documented, you must keep me accountable!] to keep a dream journal!

There are a number of reasons why I want to remember my dreams.  First, they're always incredibly entertaining and an interesting topic of conversation with just about anyone.  Second, I am incredibly interested in the psychology of dreams and how things and themes that appear in dreams can be [somehow] connected to real life.

--[Note to self:  research Dream Psychology and Dream Dictionaries]--

I have ABSOLUTELY no idea who or how someone came up with a dream dictionary and why certain things are symbolic of particular life events or feelings, etc.  I mean... seriously... who sat there and thought up that "Dreaming of ducks is symbolic to family life, child bearing and intimacy. Eating a duck in your dream means you desire someone sexually while seeing one represents your fruitfulness at home and the fact that you are able to conceive a child." [Source: Dream Dictionary]???  As crazy as some things sounds, every time that I've had a dream and consulted a dream dictionary most of the things that resulted actually made sense.

So, with all this is in mind.... I'm off to dreamland, with my dream journal on the night stand ready to be filled with wild and crazy dreams and the underlying meanings that bring them to life!

Happy Dreaming!