Eveything's gonna get lighter, even if it never gets better.

Today was, quite simply, awesome. And, I mean, it's not even six yet. Let's discuss the reasons:

1) I got my Barnes and Noble package today. That alone guarantees an excellent day.

2) I ate pretty much half a loaf of jalapeno cheddar bread. With cream cheese. It was delicious. I do not regret it in the slightest.

3) A Down East miracle. Just for me. There's this shirt I really love at Down East. Except for the part where it is this awful yellow-green-puke color. That I cannot abide. So today while I am hard at work organizing clearance I come upon the shirt in a soft dusky grey. Just one. In my size. Apparently it very randomly arrived in our shipment yesterday. So of course I bought it. (Along with a new super cute purse. Which I actually needed because my old one was falling apart.)

4) I got a postcard and a letter in the mail today. And both were a complete surprise.

5) I didn't shower today and yet my hair still looks fairly decent.

6) This is my 100th blog posting.

So in order to reward you, my loyal readers (all three of you), and to spread the love, happiness, and good days around I have decided to have a give-away. All you have to do is comment. Tell me something that made you happy today. A week from today I will have a drawing containing the names of everyone who commented. The winner will receive a small surprise package from me.

I love you.

Lying on the floor.

Clive has taken to chasing me. As a method of torture, I think, because he knows that I prefer to love him from a distance.

On Saturday night I had to scramble up onto our dining room table in order to evade him. He then proceeded to circle me like a shark, leaving me with no means to escape.

I cannot suppress a little scream every time he sneaks up on me.

Today was absolute insanity. He was pursuing me like never before. Running. Sliding. Jumping. Things would end badly. I could feel it. I felt it as I leapt over his wriggling body crouched before me. I felt it as I dashed to the kitchen with him on my tail (no, the irony is not lost on me). I felt it as I reached for a stool so as to fend him off.

Unfortunately, I tripped on said stool and somehow managed to ram it into our refrigerator with an ear-splitting crack, while also managing to do a half-somersault in the air, hit both of my knees on goodness knows what, and land on my back.

Things ended badly.

The good news is that the stool, in a twisted sort of way, achieved the desired effect. Clive was frightened by the sound and ran away. So I could lay on the floor in peace. Also, I wasn't seriously hurt. So I guess that's good news, as well.

And Melissa got a good laugh. After she was certain I was alright, anyway. Which was really nice of her, I thought.
Melissa: Are you okay?
Me: (between ragged laughter that could have be mistaken as sobbing) Yes, I'm fine.
Melissa: Are you sure? I thought that your face hit the fridge and made that sound.
Me: (more laughter) No, that was the stool. I'm okay.
Melissa: Are you sure? Because if you're not really hurt I'm going to start laughing now.

So my body is slightly more bruised, especially my knees, but that is nothing new, really. And I have learned a valuable lesson: clumsy people should not try to outrun dogs that are faster than them. Things will end badly no matter what. At least if you hold your ground and get taken out by the dog you look like slightly less of an idiot. You may even look a little bit brave. But by running and taking yourself out there is no red badge of courage, only the red of shame in your cheeks.

Lesson learned.

Home is where the heart is.

Literally. The heart is over Pocatello.

I love Idaho. Which is common knowledge at this point, really. So this lovely piece has been my heart's desire for a long, long time. My darling sister, Melissa, who quite possibly loves Idaho as much as I do, gave it to me for my birthday. (It was ordered specially on Etsy, so it didn't actually arrive until today, blessed of all days.) This an unimaginable act of love. I do not know that I would have been able to part with such a gem had I been in her position.

I love Idaho. I think I'll die if I ever have to leave.

Distant dark places.

The power went out last night. And it was dark. The kind of dark where you cannot see a thing. Not your hand right in front of your face. That had never actually happened to me before. This kind of darkness. It was sort of spectacular.

Until I decided to brush my teeth before I went to bed. As soon as I walked into my bathroom with my dim little flashlight in hand and glanced into the mirror I became thoroughly freaked out. There is something fairly eerie about looking in the mirror in the mostly dark. Especially if you have played "Bloody Mary" at some point in your past.

So I made my sister, Meagan, stand in the bathroom with me whilst I polished my million dollar smile.

So I am a bit pathetic. And I am afraid of everything. And yet, still insanely awesome. And consistent.

In explanation: The Brown Couch

The Brown Couch is magical. It makes sick people well. Sitting on it is a dream. The Brown Couch is a miracle. Everyone wants it.

My mother inherited the Brown Couch when she wed my Father. Or at sometime after. Point being that if she had not married it would not belong to her.

Thus, it has become a competition between my siblings and me. The first of us to marry inherits the Brown Couch.

This is taken very seriously. Okay, so maybe only very to me. And maybe it is only speculation/wishful thinking that my mother will actually relinquish her rights to the Brown Couch upon my marriage. But I do hope.

So vote. (For me, preferably).

The game is afoot.

Devin informed me today (via e-mail) that he plans to claim the Brown Couch upon his return from Mexico. He says that he has spent the last two years honing his social skills and suppressing his wanting. He will suppress no longer. He believes that this will ensure him the Brown Couch.

He is mistaken.

I will triumph over him. I will be named conqueror. I will sit upon the throne that is the Brown Couch.

But so that you may voice your opinion I have created a poll. Please vote.

She loves you.

I made postcards.

Wonder of wonders.

I accidentally washed my "dry clean only" skirt today. It seems okay. So I guess that means I win.

Robb should be super proud of me, I have been doing my laundry on such a regular basis.

All is love.

"I have already loved you once today." -Melissa

She don't care what her momma says, no, she's gonna have my baby.

Sometimes I get rather bored and do things like take pictures of myself pretending to be pregnant. Well, technically I didn't take these. Meagan did. So this is probably only humorous to us. And just weird to everyone else.


Rest assured, I am not pregnant. Nor do I ever plan to be.

Oddly, I have been having dreams about babies. Not me having babies, but finding babies and then having to take care of them. Babies and llamas. I am still searching for the meaning.

I'm not afraid of the facts. I love facts.

My favorite boy Matty came for a petite visit this weekend. We had an absolutely marvelous time. Or at least I did.

How Matty and I became besties is still somewhat of a mystery to me, but there are a million reasons that we have stayed friends. Those reasons include, but are not limited to, the following:

-He always smells really good

-He loves to shop and buys things like "Avatar" tee shirts.

-He makes me laugh.

-He likes the music that I love and lets me make him mixes.

-He is the perfect pupil. He now makes postcards and friendship bracelets. And he even wears the bracelet that I made for him.

-He is a talented thrift-er.

-He gives me cat things. Is "Dancing with Cats" now my favorite book? Yes. Yes it is.

-He allows me to tell really long, incredibly pointless stories. As well as drill him with useless facts.

-He sometimes goes by the name "Matty-cat".

What's not to love?

Cowgirl king of the rodeo.

In August I went to a rodeo. I went to a rodeo and fell in love. And I wanted boots something awful. Cowgirl boots.

For my birthday my parents got me boots. Well actually they told me that I could look for the perfect boot and when I found it they would buy it.

I have found it.

Black, simple, not too tall, not too short.

Perfect. Let the good times roll, let the good times roll.