just a thought

"I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Just a little something to chew on.

love is a mix tape

Out on the road today, I saw a Sub Pop sticker on a Subaru.
A little voice inside my head said, yuppies smell teen spirit too.
I thought I knew what love was, but I was blind.
Those days are gone forever, whatever, never mind.

i'm a mazama mama!

Man just wants to be happy.
But society wants him to be good.
When he's good, he's rarely happy.
But when he's happy, he's always good.

Hey all! Hope everyone had a great weekend!
I just got back from central Oregon, where Mr. Man and I helped celebrate the Bend Distillery's grand opening. You know what that means? FREE BOOZE! We sort of have the "hook-up" too, cause his friend's mom's boyfriend owns the place. So we had quite a few samples after hours, and it was so much fun!! Basically if you love vodka, or gin, you should really try their stuff. Its so smooth and unbelievably delish!

And if you love spice, you gotta try the Mazama pepper infused vodka.

bendistillery.com

 OH. MY. GOD. Amazing. Great in Bloody Mary's or their specialty drink the Pina Mazama. Pineapple juice and Mazama pepper vodka. (Cathy, you should totally give this a try for a booze day!!)

I highly recommend you pick some up!

Mr. Man also participated in the single speed 5K bike race. He's such a cutie. Even covered in mud.

he finished in the top 5

king of the mountain!

oops! i crapped my pants

random shit tuesday

Holy SHIT! Am I ever in a bad mood. So bear with me...

I'm currently dog-sitting (again). Its fun and all, but puppies are
a. shit. ton . of. work. Not only does he want CONSTANT attention, but he has to be under my feet all the time. He doesn't listen to you, even though he knows exactly what you're saying. He also has absolutely NO leash manners and zero socialization skills. Oh, and did I mention he doesn't listen? I try not to blame his parents, but, its really about spending the time to train him. He's smart, but sweet Jesus is he annyoing sometimes. I'm sure this is very similar to what having kids is like. I had to go to the store and buy new treats called "Busy Pups" to do just that, keep him busy. Sheesh! He's currently licking the bone, to get to the awesomey-centery-goodness.

 Lick.

lick. lick. lick. lick. lcik.

lick. lick. lick. 

lick. lick. lick. lick. 

LICK. LICK. LICK.

LICK!!

Oh my fucking Christ I'm going to throw him out the window.

No, not really.

But really.

*humph*

I watched a movie the other day called Bollywood Hero.

I highly recommend this movie. It stars Chris Kattan, as himself (from SNL, Night at the Roxbury, Corky Romano) who goes to India to star in a movie to become a "Leading Man." Its super funny, like I literally LOL'd and I hate that expresison. Mr. Man even enjoyed it as well. Lots of comedic hijinks are involved, cultural snafoos and misunderstandings, he can't dance, he mocks his own movie career, and it gets all wrapped up with light hearted romance at the end. I really liked it. Its probably one of those movies you'd never watch, but you won't regret adding it to your Netflix queue.

And speaking of movies, tell me this doesn't look like absoulte shit.

It looks like an even shittier version of Wild Wild West. And God I hate Megan Fox. I'm so glad she's not coming back for anymore Transformers sequels.

I'm in the market for a new camera. I totally can't figure out which one I want. How fancy it needs to be. How much of the fancy-pants features will I really use? Its a little daunting. I've always had great luck with Canons, so I'm leaning towards one of those.

But I'm not entirely sure that $1,500 is really necessary for my first "upgraded, fancy-pants, cool-tastic" camera. I was thinking more like... $400-600... that sounds a  little more realistic. Does anyone have a camera they just absolutely LOVE? I'd love some suggestions or tips you have...

And finally... here's my
Quote of the week:

Buy me a drink and I imbibe today.

Teach me to drink and OMG YUM WTF IS IN THIS?

does a bear shit in the woods?

I know, I know, I've been a bad blog friend this last few days. Sometimes when life feels like its going to shit, its just hard to sit down and put it into words. Or to be funny. Or to not teach idiot drivers "lessons" with my car. Bit I digress... More on that later. For now its



Its a Monday tradition over at the DDoR to sit back, relax, and take a Monday Minute. This is my first MM, so please enjoy!

1 - Ever take a shit in the woods?
Get ready for some TMI here. Its a tradition in my friend circle to have "River Parties" down at my parents house. Our property is less than a 1/4 mile from a shallow, slow moving part of the Santiam River, surrounded by lovely birch trees and the perfect spot for tubing, drinking and bonfiring. Well lets just say, that when you start drinking at noon, you may need to use the non-existent outdoor facilities at one time or another. And hypothetically speaking I may have used the non-existent facilities. Paper towels have many, many uses. The worst part is seeing it later, in the morning. Spotting the paper towels through the shrubs and hearing someone yell "Who took a dump over there?!?"

Embarrassment is so much easier to hide in the dark.

2 - If you won $1,000, what's the first thing you would do with it besides give Ian a cut?
Remember when $100 was a lot of money? Or even $500? Good Lord, now $1000 wouldn't even make a dent! *sigh* Beer money. Vacation money. Maybe pay some to my mom (whom I currently owe over $3000... Whooray for financial independence!)

3 - What's your favorite phrase?

The Inspirational ~
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." (Martin Luther King Jr.)

The Amusing ~
"Boring is a choice; Mild salsa and pleated khakis don't buy themselves."

and The Ever Impressive ~
"There's no shower strong enough to wash the douche-bag from your soul."

4 - Fill in the blank - the world would be a better place if ______ left the planet.
Fear-mongering, ignorance-pandering and down right LYING politicians and "political analists" such as Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin.

5 - How do you take your coffee or tea?
I like my coffee like I like my women. Covered in bees!!

so afraid of old age

"We are so arrogant, aren't we? So afraid of age.

We do everything we can to prevent it.

We don't realize what a privilege it is to grow old with someone.

Someone who doesn't drive you to commit murder.

Doesn't humiliate you beyond repair."

from "P.S. I Love You"

observant

deep stuff right here...

swan dive

My pilates teacher today:

"If you don't squeeze it ladies, nobody else will!"


I love it.

mystery speaker

This was a note left in the guest bedroom after my cousin left.

He's 13.

I'm pretty sure collin is "colon".
HAHAHAAA!

my unconquerable soul

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

~William Ernest Henley

I love those last two lines. I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. Ever since I saw the Invictus Movie trailer I've been digging the poem. And the movie as well. And now of course I'm digging this:

It is numero uno on my Christmas list.

You have officially been dugged.

beautiful

amish country

"Let your words be thoughtful, few, and true."

awesome sauce

--Maurice Sendak

when asked whether Spike Jonze's movie based on his book Where the Wild Things Are is too scary for kids in a Newsweek interview.

broad shoulders

"If I've learned anything, it's that we can never let the chaos and injustice make us so blind with anger that we become part of the problem.

Understanding, compassion, kindness, and love are the only true revolutionary ideas.

When we compromise those, we become what we despise and we lose our humanity."

i like the word soul. i like the word mate. but soulmate?

i'm seriously behind on my blogging. My apologies. I still need to write about camping last weekend, and now I have more to write about. *sigh* oh well. maybe i'll get around to it, maybe i won't. I also may have shingles. I'll be going to the doctor's tomorrow to hopefully find out what's going on with this rash on my tummy. WHOOP!

anyway, i'm going to share this with you. I read it in a book recently and its given me a lot to think about. I really like it, comforts me in some way, even though losing people who mean so much to you is hard to understand or feel good about.

People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave.

this old/new-to-me house

Too many beers and an array of power tools. Yesterday was Home Improvement Saturday!!
Attempting to plumb the new refrigerator from the sink across the kitchen under the house, was almost completed. Somehow the back connection keeps leaking so its still a work in progress. We also had to get a new, longer drill bit to go further through the floor. Later we called reinforcements to help with drilling through the tile. There were sparks involved. Kinda cool.

We also started pruning the hedges, but darkness snuck up too fast for us to finish. There were however FOUR completed jobs for the day... mowing the lawn, painting and attaching a new back stop for the bathroom door, spraying the back yard and building a new screen for the living room window. I have to say, I had my doubts that we would get any of it done. Especially the fridge.

Going under the house!

Spiders?

new screen! Success!!

plumbing! Thank goodness for reinforcements!

pruning the hedges... of many small villages!!

Other little gems from this weekend include:

• "Fish with teeth! Fish with teeth! SWIM AWAY! SWIM AWAY!"
• "Marriage is a punishment for shoplifting in some countries."
• "Had to call in reinforcements... Now our reinforcements are calling in reinforcements..."
• "Who needs a man when you have power tools and liquid courage!"
• "That's the cruise ship of rafts! They used whole entire logs!"

wet wool

"Fear is a powerful tool. Society uses it to scare us about everything, and to keep us on the track. Family uses it to force to follow their dreams, not our dreams. It took me a long way and I paid a very high price to follow my dream. Why do people try to instigate this fear in everybody? And the best option that we have, is to not respect this unnatural fear and move forward towards our dream."

there's nothing sexier then a handle-bar mustache

I am renewed, rejuvenated and re- well.. something that starts with re.

I've had some tough times lately. Tough times that I shared with a few of you, or partially with some, and none with others. Sad I know. Tough times that sometimes your not particularly proud of. However, I'm moving past and trying to get life together.

I'm renewed in my quest to join the peace corps. I've officially decided, after months of s pinning my wheels, to file for bankruptcy. Not the best idea I've had in years, but I'm honestly making NO progress, and I still have 5 credit card collection agencies calling me daily. SEveral times daily. Several times daily and leaving messages.

Things that make me happy:
"Return of the Living Dead" on AMC [American Movie Classics].
Friends that call you 4 times in a row until you answer when they know something is wrong.
A tall cool budweiser (or bud light).
Having a driver's license.

I read a great quote yesterday, that I'd like to share..
"do not be afraid of dying be afraid of not living life."