This one time...

Joey and I didn’t have a washer and dryer during college.  When we ran out of clean undies, we’d load up a basket of laundry and Berke, and head down to my mom’s house.  One night we got home around 11pm with our clean clothes, which Joey took out of the car as Berke and I walked up to our apartment.  We found the door standing open.
 
Me: Joey!  The door is open!
Joey: Well let’s go inside to see if anything’s missing….
Me: No!  We need to call 911.
 
We clambered back to the car and phoned in the emergency.  Minutes later, two patrol cars arrived, blue lights flashing but no sirens.  Joey shared our information with the officers, who told us to stay in the car and lock the doors.  We had left the front window blinds halfway up, so we could see into the dark apartment as the police made their way inside.  Their technique was just like you see in the movies— one in front, aiming his gun and flashlight; the other covered his back, weapon drawn up “prayer style.”  As we watched the flickering light of our City’s finest sweeping our little home, Joey turned to me.  “I think I forgot to shut the door when I carried out the laundry basket.”  Oooohhh.
 
When the officers emerged, we explained what had happened.  They were extremely nice about the entire situation and assured us that they always would rather take a call to be safe rather than sorry.  I’m pretty sure they had a good laugh back at headquarters though.  I get the giggles every time I tell the story.

FOOL.O

As promised, the video of Joey and Trevor on the inground trampoline at Serenbe!

Wait for it, waaaaait for it.....

PS: If the playback is choppy, click here for a better version.

She's little, but she's scrappy...

I grew up in a ranch style home; the kind with the kitchen, living room, etc. on one end, a hallway, and the bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. on the other end.  My sister and I shared the last bedroom on the “west wing.”  If I stayed up late, the “east wing” of the house would be dark when I made my way out of the bathroom, which is in the middle of the hall.  The set up feels kind of spooky in a dark and quiet house.  My instinct was to sprint from the bathroom to the safety of our bedroom, but I would never let myself take the easy way out.  Every time that I found myself in this situation, up until Joey and I moved in to an apartment when I was 19, I would make myself step out of the bathroom, face the dark side of the house, and then turn and slowly walk to the bedroom.  I always thought, ‘If something is going to get me, I want to see it coming and I’m going to fight like heck.’  I think I’m that way about life.  I never take a nothing-you-can-do-about-it approach.  
 

I'm kind of in a "dark hallway" intersection in an area of my life right now.  What once gave me energy now drains me, and I am unwilling to continue to let this creep up on me.  I’m too scrappy smart not to turn and put up a fight.  Besides, the monsters are never as big as they seem.

PS: In the midst of all this argh, my friend Becky gave me a super sweet compliment.  Pretty much made my day.  :)

My Heart

Happy Birthday Berkeley!

In honor of this special day, I created a small collage of some of his adventures over the past year.  Yea, he's a handful, but he's my heart.

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.  You are his life, his love, his leader.  He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.  You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.

Well that's a door of a different color...

When Joey and I moved into our house in 2006, we chose Valspar National Trust for Historic Preservation "La Fonda Antique Red" as the color for our front door.

Last winter, I came across this picture:

Maybe we both has early onset spring fever; we loved the look.  In April, cheer and sunshine graced our threshold in the form of Valspar National Trust for Historic Preservation "Cliveden Camelback Sofa."

A shade that vibrant doesn't really work year round though.  I found and filed this pretty picture:

 

Over the Labor Day weekend- in honor of the unofficial end of summer- we made the change using Valspar National Trust for Historic Preservation "Mark Twain Gray Brick."

While we were at Serenbe on Saturday, I got a lot of ideas for future door colors.  At less that $15 for a quart of paint, why not?!