Giving Warm Fuzzies to a Winner

It's been so long since I've posted a winner that I almost forgot how to do it. I almost made each of you buy me a prize instead! Hardy har har. But! That's a great idea, isn't it? We should do that sometime. Any person who leaves a comment will be forced to buy me something! How many comments do you think I will get? (I'm thinking it will be somewhere in the 500 range.)

OK, I did it different this time. All the weeks of August and September were eligible for the prize, so I just added up all the comments for a grand total of 53 (oh wait, I think I'm way off on my 500 guesstimate in the above aforementioned paragraph.) comments. I then typed in Random.org on my computadora to go to the website of Random.org, and low and behold, this webby page thingy popped up with a random number generator. I entered 1 thru 53. It then gave me the random number of 29. I then scrolled through each and every comment until I got to comment number 29 (this was difficult since I only know how to count to 16 and that's just in Spanish!) and I found that the winner is from last week's post on California and Dreamin. And the winner is comment #2 from that week ... it's Paulashawn!

Paula, how long has it been since you were a true winner? I'm so glad you finally came around! And I know you are probably going to try and be benevolent and pass on the prize, but these are things you all love, so you can't refuse!

# uno   Hottie Cocoa

(it's levitating!)

#dos   The fluffiest slippers you ever did feel!

#tres   The snuggliest blanket you ever did snuggle with!

See, you want all these things, don't you? (Say yes!)

(My photography skills are borderline professional today!) 

Can you tell that I am greatly concerned about the cold that is descending upon us? I will feel much better if I know you will be able to stay warm this winter, so let me share my warmth with you! I shall mail them to you posthaste. (Or probably laterhaste.)

See y'all back next week!

Dream Sketcher

I know what you are thinking. You saw "dream" in the title and you groaned a little inside, didn't you? You were thinking, "Great, Lori is going to be talking about beaches again. And almonds. That's all she ever talks about." But NO! You are wrong, wrong, wrong. This is something entirely different. We are going to talk about my other favorite subject: SLEEP.

Do dreams fascinate you? (My goodness, you do dream, don't you? I don't want to offend anyone who doesn't dream, or has insomnia, or a new baby.) I find it amazing that the mind can be so active when the rest of your body is comatose. It gives me great reassurance that I'm not brain dead after all! My dreams vary from strange to mundane to scary (although that doesn't happen all that often) to creative to inspirational. I typically remember my dreams and have decided that I should sleep extra long (like 14-16 hours a day) so I have more dreams to think about when I'm awake.

I didn't have a lot of nightmares as a child, but when I did, the dream was always the same: A band of robbers would come out of the closet and be lurking in Paula's room and I would see them there and become frozen with fear and not be able to move, let alone scream. I now know that this means that I was actually afraid of Paula and she was stifling me and not allowing me to express myself. (JK Paulawog.)

Picture from here.

Occasionally, I will have a nightmare and it always involves something bad happening to one of my children. Those are THE WORST. Interpretation: I love and care about my children's' well-being, even if I am the kind of mom who is glad when they head off to school each morning.

Of course you know that Twilight began as a dream, and this happens a lot to other authors. Did I ever tell you guys that The Reign of Trees was born from a dream as well? I know it sounds cliche, but that's a super amazing experience. Many great book ideas have been hatched this way, but sadly sometimes I forget what they were before I have a chance to get up and write them all down. It's also possible that the ideas really aren't that great but in my sleep-induced delusion, I think something is profound and it's really about as worthless as clothes in Miley Cyrus' dressing room.

One thing that always baffles me is when you dream of a person from your past that you haven't seen in over a decade (or longer) and that you don't even recall thinking about in practically just as long. These dreams mean that you are a bad friend and you should really keep in better touch with people.

Weird dreams are my personal favorite. I love it when you wake up and you're like "WHAT THE ???" Just last week I had one of these which involved a large group of children letting off hundreds of yellow helium balloons (wait for it) and on top of each balloon was a red Clifford stuffed animal, all of different makes and sizes, hand-selected by the child to release into the atmosphere. Now let's remember I don't have little children anymore, so I haven't seen a Clifford movie, book, or stuffed animal in a couple of years. What the heck did that mean? ... Rising balloons mean a desire to escape from life (hello last week's post about living on the beach!) and embrace my inner child.  Yellow represents brightness and sunshine (hello last week's post about living on the beach!) and Clifford the dog means that I am larger than life (hello ... um nothing I've ever said anytime, anywhere). So all of those elements put together means I shouldn't drink so much Dirty Diet Coke. (You have had one, haven't you?)

(Google search Clifford + Balloons)

I frequently have "teeth" dreams, although they seem to be decreasing as I get old (oh no, not THAT again).  Basically, it's like when Sylvester the Cat gets hit in the mouth and his teeth are like piano keys, and they play the scale as they fall from his mouth. In my dreams, this happens while I'm trying to talk to someone and every time I say another word, out flies another tooth. This means that I'm vain and that I'm insecure. It is a good thing I don't have those dreams so much anymore because those are traits I don't really love. I also suspect I don't have those dreams so often now days because my horrid habit of chewing ice is going to make those dreams a reality and who wants to dream about something that will inevitably happen?  (Kinda can't wait for dentures though. Who wouldn't want white, straight teeth that aren't sensitive to heat?)

The other weird dream I have involves gum. I'm chewing a big wad of gum and I try to spit it out, but it just keeps growing and growing. I try to pull the gum out for what feels like forever, but I can never get it all out of my mouth, so I can't talk and all I do is mumble to people, sounding like I just swallowed an entire can of marshmallow creme. This means that I feel like I have problems expressing myself (says the writer with a bad case of writers block) or oftentimes am not able to say what is on my mind (says the coward who backs away from any confrontation). It also could mean that I feel like I have bitten off more than I can chew (yes Primary, I'm looking at you).

What frequent dreams do you have? Anything scary? Or just plain weird?

Do you remember a particular dream that was just amazing? Do you ever want to fall back asleep so that you can stay in that certain Dreamland?

And since I am now certified with a BC in Dreamology from the University of Anywhere (Online), I will interpret your dreams for you! So tell me all about them, and I will tell you what is really wrong with your life. (I promise to be gentle)

Picture from this site right here.

Ready? Let's get lost in the world of Inception!

Plus: it's the end of the month, so I will have a prize for one super lucky person! Make sure you come back Thursday to see who has Lady Luck on their side!

California and Dreamin'

We're baaaaaack! Thanks for letting me skip out on the blog last week friends! It was fabulous to get away for a few days, even if all that driving gave me some majorly plush canckles!

California, I like you. You are pretty (ish. Some places, not so much. Yes Barstow, I'm talking about you.). You have an ocean! (Shocking, I know!) You have so much industry. So much agriculture! Did you know all my favorite foods are grown in California? I have decided to move there when I retire and buy an almond farm. It makes perfect sense really, because I spend a few hundred dollars on almonds every month year, so I may as well save a few bucks and grow my own!

But guess what: even more than retiring to an almond farm, I could see myself living in California (oceanside), especially during the months of January, February, March, April and May (and sometimes June.) (Shh, don't tell my dad!) California has lots to offer and I can see why the southerners from way down south risk life and limb to get there. (Honestly, I can't really see that, but I haven't been to Mehico to see the deplorable conditions, so I shall reserve my judgement.)

I'm lucky enough to live in a major tourist destination. (Sometimes me thinks I'm not lucky-- sometimes me thinks I'm cursed! Tourists don't know how to drive. Nor do they know you can't launch fireworks all summer long. But I digress ... ) I know droves of people who visit here, fall in love and then want to move here. It's funny too how people think it would be blissful to live in an area so lovely, but they fail to realize that when you live here, you don't get to play all the time. You still have to work, get kids to school and extra curricular, clean the house, etc, clean the house, etc, clean the house, etc .... If you are not careful, you can get so caught up in the daily grind that you forget you live somewhere awesome.

One of my favorite sights in California was down by the pier at about 9:30 a.m. We saw a guy getting dressed after surfing. ....Wait, I worded that wrong. We didn't watch him get dressed and seeing things like that isn't my favorite thing. (Promise. If you could have seen me regurgitate my morning Coke when I saw a lady's cheek hanging out of her shorts this morning as I dropped the kids off from school, you would believe me! (Yes, I really saw that. Ick. And she went INTO the school like that. Double ick. I bet her children look forward to winter.))  Anywho, back to the story: this fellow had just changed into his button-down shirt and slacks and was getting ready for work after spending the morning surfing. How cool is that?

I think everyone falls in love with various tourist destinations, but only a small handful of people can move to those dream locales without worrying about how to pay for their new adventure. (And even if you could afford to move to a beach somewhere, you wouldn't want to do NOTHING all the time, would you? BORING!)

What tourist spot have you visited and then fallen in love with? Have you dreamt of moving there? And what would you do to pay the bills? Be creative: you can do anything you want to do while living in dreamland!

I'm going to cheat a little on mine (my dream, I can do what I want!). I've never been to the Caribbean, mostly because I know if I went there, I would never come back! (There might be another reason that has something to do with finances, but we'll forget about that part. DEPRESSING!) But, I know I would love to live there because I've seen it in on the Telly and it looks heavenly! So, I'm going to move somewhere tropical and live on the ocean, and for a job I'm going to work in a bakery or as a barista in a non-alcoholic bar mixing Dirty Diet Cokes. I think it would be fun to have a job where you could meet people from all over the world and tell them about all the hidden treasures of that area. Is that weird? I think it sounds very low-stress and very high-adventure!

Your turn: Pick a dream destination to relocate to and then find a way to make it happen! For reals! Get planning! I want you moving half-way around the world by December! (Just kidding. Not for reals. Just for dreams. Unless you want to make it happen ... then don't let anything stop you!) (BTW, did you know that I've discovered that the key to motivating people is by using lots of exclamation marks? Seriously, it works!!!!)

Life's a Beach

You guys! Guess what? (Just guessssss!)

I am here ...

No, that is not a picture of MONTANA, nor is it anywhere near MONTANA, but is in fact CALIFORN.EYE. AYE. 

Yes, I am on a mini-vactation with the HUBS, who is on a workcation. But we are gone nonetheless and enjoying the cold, foggy beach. (I skipped down the beach guys. You could say I was excited.)

I will be back home soon (too soon!) but until then ... no blog post this week. I beg your pardon. I hope you can forgive me and can find something else to do this week. (Bummer for you.) I'll have a post next week, with more pictures (maybe ... so long as the fog is gone come morning) and some mind-blowing topic (which has yet to be determined) to be discussed. Later gaters!

Higher Learning

With the teenagers heading back to school (the eldest is a senior!) and my recent (like yesterday) trip to my hometown, I seem to have one thing on my brain: HIGH SCHOOL.

With the mention of that phrase, you might experience a couple of different emotions. Either you think

1. Eew, gross
or 
2. Oh, blessed day!
... or possibly
3. Meh.

And your feelings about that vertically aspiring institution likely change with time. I remember feeling like high school was the equivalent of living at the bottom of the Berkly Pit, but now that I look back, I think, "Oh my gosh, it was like living at Disneyland!" (OK, so I exaggerated, again. But really, it wasn't half-bad! I think I actually liked it ... most of the time.)

My high school was a big city high school, Montana style. We had just under 400 ish in our graduating class, so in comparison with the high school in my current town, that's huge. (Each class here has around 70.) But high school in Montana is high school in Montana. Meaning--it might be a little on the boring side. Sports are IT; all the other clubs and extracurricular seem to struggle. If you're a wide-receiver with Road Runner legs and glue-coated fingertips, Montana might be the place for you. But I was never very good at football.

But, just like real life, you can bloom anywhere. How does one bloom in the vast prairies of Montana (high schools)?

• Don't worry about what other people think about you. You can't change their thoughts. But you can change the way you think of yourself. That means you need to like yourself. Which is what gives you confidence. Which leads to the next point:

• Be confident. Everyone has insecurities. Just hide yours until you forget they exist.

• Don't try to fit into any particular group. Nobody likes to be classified by just one characteristic, (jock, geek, skater, whatever.) People are so much more than a label; don't strive to become one (popular).

• Have good hygiene. And don't ever, ever, ever have big bangs, even if everyone else has big bangs. 

• Be nice. Especially to the people who don't have good hygiene or have really big bangs. 

• Be silly. You have your entire life to be grown up. (Silly and immature aren't necessarily the same thing. Be wise in your silliness.)  

• Don't forget your family. They'll be around a lot longer than that one guy you squirted ketchup on (picture a white Miami Vice jacket) whose name you can't even remember. 

What advice would you give to current high schoolers? Anything you regret doing (or not doing) during high school? Did you love it or loathe it? Would you like to go back? (Who wants to watch Never Been Kissed? Looove that show.)

And just because I thought these were fun: we did a photo tour of Great Falls one day with our friend Stephanie. And by we, I mean Paula, because we were inseparable back then. Weren't we Paula? Also wanted to show these because there was absolutely nothing else to do that day, but look how much fun we had!

 

(You were getting kind cheeky with that guy, weren't you Paula?)

 

  
Let's talk high school! GO!