Friday I'm in love.

These ten things making my life a little more enjoyable RIGHT now:

1 - Pandora Radio. It is awesome, and it is FREE. Makes the old office gig a nicer place. You can set up your own stations, and rate songs as they come on so it can detect your preferences and play the music you like! Love it! One complaint is that they tend to re-play a lot...but I figure if it is a song I like, I don't mind hearing it often!

2 - Idaho Vandals. Love them all the time, but especially right now. They are playing football this season like they mean it, and it has been a true joy to watch a be a part of. Not to mention that I have two degrees from this fine institution that I could NOT be more proud of or more thankful to have.

3 - endless.com. Free overnight shipping, free returns for a year, more shoes than you could shake a stick at. I don't think I need to say more.

4 - Sons of Anarchy. This is a show on FX. Tuesday nights. It is SO good. There are two more episodes left in the second season. I would highly recommend this to anyone, but rent season one and start from the beginning. It is a hamlet re-do. SO good.

5 - Country music. I cannot get enough lately. I grew up in a super small town in Idaho, and kind of rebelled against the "country" way of life, and truly regret it now. It is so cool! I didn't know what I was being exposed to at the time, and was a little "too good" for it, now I think that I should have had more appreciation for the unique, rare, and special way of life that was all around me! I want Brooks and Dunn Number 1s and Then Some for Christmas. Thank you.

6 - My Toyota Prius. Somehow this car gets 50 MPG when the seat warmers are on. How does it do that? Love this car, except, I think that my specific one is a bit cursed. For some reason we can't seem to take it out without it getting all wrecked up.

7 - Diet Dr. Pepper. Um, yum.

8 - Have a Cute Day. I recently discovered this blog, and LOVE it. She is adorable. Some of her stuff, I am like..."eeeeee, maybe I am not sure about that..." but she is pretty dang cute.

9 - Simplify Supper. Yes, I would like to do that, thanks. I don't follow this day to day, but it has some fun ideas!

10 - WISP. Does this seem gimmicky? It is. But I love them. You can brush your teeth whenever, and wherever you want.

Hope everyone out there has a great weekend! It is almost Thanksgiving (I also love Thanksgiving)

A moment

"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing."
- Edmund Burke

I want to share my thanks with all of the good men and women who did something. Thank you to all veterans past and present for your selfless commitment to your country and the people who live in it. May you live your lives with pride in your service.

Update

Good morning all. I wanted to share an update about my Mother-in-Law. Beth has a touch of the flu and an infection, and because of those two things, her surgery has been postponed for a week or more depending on how she recovers from these things. The Doctors will not operate if her body is fighting an infection, and we are grateful for that. She is feeling OK, but we are still very much looking forward to her upcoming surgery.

The comments, phone calls, prayers, donations, and love we have ALL received has been overwhelming, and so very appreciated! I thank each and every friend out there who has helped in any way. She will continue to need prayers and positive thoughts, and I will continue to provide updates on this blog.

Many thanks and good wishes to all.

Beth

Dru's mom, Beth, is having major surgery on Monday. She has lived a life full of problems with her spine, and has had several surgeries, and is now gearing up to have yet another one. We love Beth so much. She is a wonderful mother to Dru, and in inspiration in kindness. We are nervous for her surgery, and nervous for her recovery, and hopeful that when this is all over she will be a happier and healthier woman.

Because Beth will need A LOT of blood during her surgery. If you live in the San Diego area, and are able, please go to the San Diego Blood Bank and donate blood for Beth. It doesn't matter what your blood type is, if you give in her name, she will get a credit for a unit of blood in her type. You could be helping Beth AND another person in need!

I will be going today to give my blood. Here is the information for the San Diego Blood Bank, and what you need to provide to them to ensure that Beth can get her credit for your donation:

San Diego Blood Bank

When you go to give, please tell them that the donation is for Beth Levendoski, her blood bank ID is "BL05" (that is BL "zero" 5).

I know not all can give blood, but all of your prayers, thoughts, and warm wishes are very much felt and appreciated. We have a lot of very wonderful people in our lives, and feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family. Our love to all, and much love to Beth at this moment in her life. It is a big one.

For more information about Beth and her surgery, her sister and niece set up this website.

We love you, Beth.

Have Joy Give Away!

So I am semi-obsessed with this blog: Have Joy
This lady, whose name is Nikki (although for the first several weeks that I read this blog I called her "Joy," has such a great blog. Nikki and I are two VERY different women, however, I always enjoy the things that she has to share, and her view of the world. I also suspect that she helps a lot of people who are struggling in life and relationships. She is really smart, you can tell by her writing, and she is really fun, you can tell that too. Even though we have never met, and probably never will, I feel like she is my friend, and I can't wait to see what zany experience she is going to post about next. She also posts every day, which is super fun, and a current goal of mine. I want to try to start posting every day, even if it is something small...I am going to get there soon!

This week she is conducting a giveaway from the California Caramel Company, and I would LOVE to win it! I love reading this awesome blog, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE caramel apples!

I've been in a funk.

But I think I am coming out of it now!

It doesn't hurt that the Dodgers are in the playoffs, the Vandals are in first place in the WAC, and my fantasy football team finally decided to win a few games! I think my funk is mainly seasonally driven. I miss fall so bad, and I am currently so homesick I could CRY! But I have so very much to be thankful for, I have a job, a wonderful husband, and my health. I am starting to climb my way out of my funk, which will hopefully result in some more blogging! I have a few things to put up on here! Dru is doing so great in school. He has one more mid-term and then hopefully things will slow down a bit for him. He is still liking his new job, and continuing to do well at it!
I probably won't end up dressing up for Halloween this year...so here is a photo of me in a hot dog costume. Why didn't I purchase this??

Go Mighty Vandals

I got in really late last night after going to a wedding in Long Beach. Dru rolled in a little after me after working all day and then spending the evening with the guys. We would never be able to stay up and watch the Vandal game that we taped...or would we??? That is right, we STARTED the game at midnight and watched the WHOLE DAMN THING! Long story short - VANDALS 4-1! I cannot believe it. I was so excited I could barely get to sleep last night. Now hear me when I say, my love of and support for the Vandals has NEVER wavered. I have faithfully watched and cheered, and gotten excited over small victories (like "losing by less than 30"). I have watched every game that I could on TV (which have been few in San Diego), I have even flown to Moscow for a few games (even though I knew we weren't going to win). I have done it all, and have done it all happily because I am a Vandal. I understand that we haven't had a great football program, but I don't think anyone else can understand how happy I am this season for this team I love so much. The University of Idaho deserves a team they can be proud of, they do. As I was watching the end of the game last night (mind you this is creeping into the early hours of the morning), all of a sudden it seamed as though my TV went fuzzy, after a moment, I realized that I had tears in my eyes. Dramatic? Maybe, but I don't care. I had tears in my eyes. I want to be clear, I NEVER find it hard to be a Vandal (even when they are ranked last in the nation), but I have to say, it feels pretty darn nice to be a Vandal this season! GOOOOOOOOO VANDALS!!!!!!!