Wishing the Skies Weren't so Friendly

I've been having a hard time coming back to reality since my trip. My morning commute takes me past the local airport, and every morning last week, I wanted to just turn right and head to valet parking. I thought I'd be over it by this week, but alas, it persists. I could hop on a flight to New York or Chicago then who knows where I'd end up. Maybe here again because it was so beautiful...


Or maybe I'd flit off to see some waterfalls in New Zealand. Or Bali. Going on vacation always reminds me just how incredible it feels to escape. Evade the routine. To wander around somewhere unfamiliar and experience things for the first time, making invaluable deposits into the memory bank.



I think that's what I enjoy most about traveling—not the relaxation or the seeing of sights—but the sense of limitless possibility. Every day you wake up away from home is an adventure (even if you're just a few hours or a state away!). You eat at new restaurants, you walk down new streets, you see a different skyline when you watch the sun set.


It's nice having someone else in my life who understands this. Nice...and dangerous. Because together we could run away (yeah, I know my feet look like monkey hands and you're thinking, "how can she run on those things?"). We could go travel the world. And as much as that stokes the coals of wanderlust smoldering inside me, it also scares me a little. That's the funny thing about my sense of adventure—it's coupled with a tether to my hometown. I tried to move away from the area once (all the way to Orange County! Gasp!). I only lasted 8 months. But if I had a partner...would I ever come back?


I ate lunch today with a girl who saved up with her husband and took ten months off work to travel. She went to 28 countries. I don't know how you could do that and not come back a better person. Someone who has experienced the happy sense of being a little lost, seen things you maybe never dreamed of seeing, tried something new every day. Actually, I don't know how you could come back from that at all.

In Other Ass News...

Yesterday was an exciting day. As if awarding me the Shine a Light CD wasn’t enough, dear blogger, Dingo, bestowed a Kick Ass Blogger Award upon me. I was so busy at work, I was barely able to bask in the glow of celebrity—but here I am today, wearing sunglasses, throwing diamonds around while I pet my miniature dog and tell my coworkers to pick up documents off the printer for me. (Or sit in my corner-office cubicle and eat apple slices from a Tupperware container…)

As part of receiving the award, I am supposed to pay it forward by adding 5 other bloggers to the Kick Ass list. Therefore, it is my pleasure to tell Bretthead of Dark, Stormy Loopy, GeekHiker of The (Single) GeekHiker, Hannah of Naked Banana, Michael C of The Wonderful World of Nothing, and Mandy of You’ve Got to be Kidding Me that I think they kick ass.

To join the list of winners, you must go to Mammadawg.com and add your name to the Kick Ass queue. Then:

• Choose 5 bloggers that you feel are "Kick Ass Bloggers."
• Let them know in your post or via email, twitter or blog comments that they've received an award.
• Share the love and link back to both the person who awarded you and back to www.mammadawg.com.

On another kickass note: Yesterday, Mr. Wonderful and I had a brief conversation over IM about planning a trip to Italy and Greece in April for our birthdays. Have any of you been to Italy or Greece? I am DYING to go. Eat, Pray, Love threw me over the edge of Italy yearning. And ya know, while we’re there, I’m sure we can do some great eloping. I mean, sightseeing. Sheesh all the kickassness has gone to my head…

Have a great weekend everyone! Oh and in my heart of blog hearts, I think all of you kick major ass.

Steaming Stinkholes

Don’t let the sulfuric stench hold you back from exploring the magic of geysers. Yes, they smell like rotten eggs. But they look—oh they look—like liquefied gemstones. They appear so inviting, Mr. W and I kept joking about how we wanted to jump into one. But then we remembered that would melt off all our skin.


Mixed into the surrounding runoff near a lot of them, you see vibrant oranges and rusts and yellows. We learned that these colored areas are inhabited by thermophiles—microorganisms that live in extremely high temperatures. Given how hot it is in my apartment right now, I’m pretty sure a family or two of them have taken up residence here for the summer.


It was interesting to see dead trees standing in the vicinity of a lot of these hot spots. I can’t quite understand how trees grew there at all, given how old most of the geysers are. Perhaps the trees are really old too…or maybe certain geysers are really sneaky and conniving and they make the tress think it’s totally chill for them to sprout up nearby, then when they least expect it, the geysers shower them in liquid hot magma water…


One of our last stops in the park was Old Faithful. The last time I was in Yellowstone (16 years ago), OF was erupting every hour and six minutes. That has increased to about every hour and a half. Apparently, Old Faithful is getting older and having some trouble getting it up regularly…perhaps a little Viagra would help…sorry, couldn’t resist…


In addition to the scents that wafted our way as we trekked the wooden pathways of the various geyser basins, there may have been an episode in the hotel room when Mr. Wonderful walked into the bathroom after I’d been in there and immediately ran back out, doubled over with his arm slung over his nose, crying, “How does that smell come out of you?!” But I won’t tell you that part of the story.

Here’s the bathtub from our room, by the way. Rockin’ awesome.

If I Could Snuggle the Woods, I Would

So as you know, I was in Yellowstone and Jackson Hole, WY this past week. Mr. W and I flew into Jackson on Wednesday afternoon, picked up our rental car and then drove about 3 hours to West Yellowstone to stay for the night.
As soon as we entered the south gate of the park, I could feel myself rejuvenating. Being in nature—especially somewhere as spectacular as Yellowstone—has a profound effect on my psyche. It’s like having God Himself tap me on the shoulder and go, “Check this out, I made this for you.” I feel so at peace. At one. Fortunate.

The first place Mr. W and I stopped was Lewis Falls. As we crunched up the trail to look over the tumble of water, I could literally feel my spirits rising. I would love to know if exposure to fresh air and the smell of soil and pine can actually release Serotonin in the brain. (Note: I may have been equally excited when I discovered the Jacuzzi bathtub in our hotel room.)
We were also privileged to witness fields and fields of wildflowers. Rabbitbrush, lupine, fireweed, paintbrush and yellow monkeyflower polka dotted the hillsides and the riverbanks. Everything we saw seemed extra vibrant—pastel petals, cobalt sky, flickering sage-colored Aspen leaves.
My favorite sights, however, were the fuzzy wuzzies. We saw a bald eagle, a buffalo, some antelope or elk (they all kind of look alike when they don’t have antlers…), a durkle of baby ducks (What’s the proper word for that kind of group? Gaggle? School? Hoard?), a marmit and several hawks and magpies.We also saw these guys and many of there brethren in various stores throughout Jackson Hole. I was margarita tipsy when I took this shot through a store window, finding it funnier than I probably would’ve sober. Poor little coonie-pie and squirrelypants…
You’re probably wondering where all the geyser shots are. Be patient, my children. The geyser post will erupt in time.

She Did Well, Didn't She?

Hi all! I'm back from beautiful Yellowstone and Jackson Hole, WY. What a great trip...more on that later. This post is about my sister. Didn't she do a fantastic job filling in? I think so. I was cracking up when I called her on my way into the park and she read me her first post. Quite entertaining...

In addition to commending her for being a great blogging mistress, I also have to thank her for buying this lovely little gem for Mr. Wonderful and me. She was quite proud of herself for finding this at some jewelry party she attended—and we were, of course, quite impressed by the selection. After I put it on Mr. W for this picture, he forgot to take it off and when it spilled out of his shirt as he laid on the bed to read, I almost called him Vinny.

The Neti Pot

If you have no idea what a Neti Pot is, it is time you learned. This silver little teapot looking thing has been life changing for me and my clogged sinuses. (and no, they're not clogged because of cat dander around my house.)

I first learned about the Neti Pot from doing internet research on sinus problems. I was convinced I needed one, so I ordered it, but was terrified to use it once it arrived. Then one day I was watching Oprah, and that fabulous Dr. Oz was on, singing the praises of the Neti Pot. He pulled some girl out of the audience, showed her what to do with it, and that was all it took. If she could do it in front of millions of people, I could do it in the privacy of my own bathroom.

So, what do you do with it? You fill it up with warm salt water, and flush your nasal cavity out. I'll admit, it is a weird sensation to stick a metal teapot in your nostril, and watch a little waterfall trickle out of the other nostril, but it is very satisfying to see what comes out, that shouldn't be in there. I can even do phase two now, which is sniffing the water up into your sinuses, and then the water comes out your mouth. Don't try this at home without proper training, kids. I used to be on antihistamines and inhaled steroids every day, for years, for my sinus issues. I am proud to say that I am on no medications anymore, and I feel great! It's wonderful for fighting off colds and allergies, and very effective once you have a cold, for cleaning out the snot factory that ensues.

It's a great conversation piece, as I take mine on vacations with me. Mine's been to Hawaii, Big Bear, and camping in the Sierras. People love to watch me do it. At first I was embarrassed because it's not the most feminine practice, but if it helps to convert people, then I'll do it in the name of health. Some friends made a video of me in Hawaii last year. I hope that doesn't turn up on the net... We gave one as a white elephant gift at a Christmas party this past year, and the lucky recipient ended up loving it!

You got sinus issues? Get a Neti Pot - you won't regret it - I promise!

My Third Child

I, like my sister, am a crazy cat lady. I only have 1, and I am especially lucky to have her since my husband is allergic. After much begging, pleading and promising to vacuum every day (yeah right, but he fell for it...) he let me pick a real pet for our family. As only fate would have it, he is allergic to every cat on the planet except for her. Not a wheeze or a sniffle out of him. He won't admit it, but he loves her to pieces. We catch him, when he thinks no one is looking, massaging her belly and talking in a cat voice.

I, like my sister, sing songs to my cat; have a special voice that only she understands; and love her even when she attacks my forearms for no apparent reason. Recently I thought I had Cat Scratch Fever from a severe slash, but it turned out to be a reaction to the antibiotic cream I had slathered on the wound. One of the worst scratches really wasn't her fault. I was carefully lifting her into my daughter's loft bed, but I forgot the ceiling fan was on, and her head got whacked. Consequently, she overreacted. She screeched, fur was flying, and I got the brunt of the mishap. I stayed up half the night to make sure she didn't have a concussion. I still love her.

My best friend, who is a therapist, is very concerned about me. She thinks I might wear Sophie around in a Baby Bjorn pack, and nurse her. I have a leash for her, because she is an indoor teenage rebellious cat, and tries to run away occasionally. My friend insists that I not use the leash in the neighborhood, because all the other cats will laugh at my Sophie. She wants to start a couple of support groups for people like me, and their feline children - Getting in Touch With Your Inner Kitten; Don't Be Such a Pussy (for scaredy cats) and my personal favorite, Nobody's Purrfect -a reality based therapy group for cats.

I don't care what anyone says. My third daughter never talks back to me in a sassy voice, will eat the same thing for dinner every night, and will snuggle with me whenever I want her to. Some would say she is saying "meow meow" every morning to me, but I know she is really saying "Mama."