Save Me, San Fransisco

I am somewhere else in my head lately.  I'm not in the present moment like I need to be.  Regret.  A useless emotion, so why can't I shake it?  I'm spending so much time reflecting on poor choices.  The what if game isn't oh so healthy.  The life in a parallel universe daydreams are ok though, I think.  And of course reminiscing and honoring memories is a good thing.  Just for now I want to be in 2001.  October 18, 2001 would be good.   Oh how I would love a game of pool, cold drinks, loud music and amazing conversation about everything that comes to mind right now.  How can you ever tire of talking about quantum physics and the benefits of breastfeeding?  Yep, I'm so missing all that. 
And have you heard Train's album "Save Me, San Fransisco"?  That album is almost entirely about my world back then.  I do realize it was released in 2009 so it wasn't actually what I listened to then, but almost the whole album speaks to me about back then.  Magical, wonderful.   Now back to daydreaming, listening to this great album and wishing for change in my present moment.

Our date

We went on a date! John's idea, a day in Jackson. I loved it! I don't know how many times I said, "This reminds me of Mary Lynn!"
Most of the fun was just walking around taking manymany goofy pictures. Really. Many. I'm only posting a tiny fraction. Good day. We even ate at Taco Bell! (exciting for us since there is not one nearby our house).
When it got dark the Christmas lights were so beautiful and walking in them was so nice! All the shops were decorated for Christmas and most were offering cookies and cider to cold shoppers.
It was so nice to get away for a day! We were going to go to a movie but we were having too much fun walking around. So for our whole fun fun date we only spent money on gas and Taco Bell dinner! We are thrifty! :)

A few of my favorites this month

Halloween is by far my favorite holiday and these are a few of my favorite things to put out every year. I am tempted to leave them up all year but putting them away makes it all the more exciting to get them out again the next year right?

Once I got started with the pictures I realized how many More I could happily post under the category "favorites" , we have so many wonderful Halloween things in our house right now but you'll just have to come over and see for yourself!

We are getting ready for our Halloween party this weekend (we'll call it our first annual Halloween party because for the life of me I cannot think of a reason not to have one every year!) Our preparations are coming along screamingly. We have everything ready to make brains and bloody guts and mummies to eat. Spencer has created a few masterpieces of spooky artwork to hang and today we're making Halloween cookies, popcorn balls and a cd of our favorite Halloween music.

We're ready for our friends to come over in their costumes and celebrate with us!

Yes, that is a werewolf in the last picture, not a turkey.

About that Sadie Hawkins picture...

So, about my last post. I got a phone call from my mom who had just read the post about John and I and she'd seen the pictures I put up from high school. She was just wondering if it would be ok with me if she put her copy of our Sadie Hawkins '94 picture back in a frame and put it out. This made me laugh but I told her it would be fine.
The thing with this particular picture is that it has haunted me over the years. It quickly became one of my mom's favorite pictures and she framed it and put it in the family room shortly after the dance. Which for a few years was fine. Then I wasn't dating John anymore, but that picture would not go away! There were other boys that I dated and were invited to my parents' house, and still that picture would not go away! And here is the part that made me crazy...my mom would show said picture to new guy and gush over how much she loved the picture, and how nice John was, and isn't he so good looking? and on and on. Oh yes, tact, pure tact. New boyfriends all loved hearing all about how great John was and how good looking he was and so on.
No matter how much I pleaded with my mother this picture just Would. Not. Go. Away. Eventually I took the picture out of the frame and hid it.
John found it a little odd that I thought it was so funny that my mom called me about this picture and it crossed my mind that he had not been there for the years post break up when this picture was a source of much eye rolling. So I told him the story. He loved it. He laughed and thought it was great. You know, puffed out his chest and flexed his biceps. And strutted, I'm pretty sure he strutted.
For a while I was free from the burden that this picture presented. And now she wants it back. I suppose I'll have to find her a copy.

Another Valentines Day

This Valentine's Day has got me thinking about Valentine's Days gone by and of where my life has been the past Valentine's compared to where I am now and where I'm going. I thought it would be a fitting time to tell a Valentine story from my past that will tie in nicely with my Valentine story this year.
It was February 1994 and I was at a dance at the Star Valley High School Annex building, a Valentine's Day dance. Not a formal dance~just an annex dance, but these were "the place to be" on a Friday night! I was 15 years old. My friend Shanie and I got a ride from her dad to the dance and our friend Leda said we could get a ride home with her and her brothers. So at this dance there was a boy that I really wanted to dance with, and a couple of times I almost went and asked him to dance but my courage wasn't quite there. I'd never met him before so the chance of him asking me to dance wasn't oh so high. I finally decided that the dance was almost over and I had to meet him so being the brave girl (that I was forcing myself to be) off I went to ask him to dance. He was surprised that I was asking him instead of one of his friends but he said yes and then I waited while he wrestled with his friend Jason to give him his hat back then out to the dance floor we went. I don't remember the song, I can't believe I don't remember the song, but for the sake of letting the story flow we'll say it was probably a Bon Jovi song:). We introduced ourselves then he propped his head on mine and chewed his gum through the whole song~and I was giddy! When the song ended we did the high school kid protocol and I went straight back to stand with my friends and he went right back over to his group of friends & shortly after that the dance ended. As Shanie and I were leaving with Leda I was kind of kicking myself for not talking to him more, and thinking that at school on Monday I'd have to be creative to find him. Then we got to the car and there he was!! I was happy to find that he was one of Leda's brothers and would be giving us a ride home! I am sure I was much too nervous to say anything on the rest of the car ride but just sitting behind him was ever so thrilling! A few days later he called me and the next few years were a whirlwind of wonderful wistful happy first love memories being made. Really wonderful the memories we made, keep in mind that we lived in one of the most beautiful places I can think of so so many of these memories take place with gorgeous backdrops, beautiful mountain trails, meadows by the river, breathtaking sunsets. Oh, and a blue car. I'm so thankful that he was in my life then.
Then we were out of touch for a decade. (I will gloss over the "end"~we were so young and immature and I was a brat).
And recently he has walked back into my life. And I am amazed at how lucky I am to have a chance to be that silly, giddy, twiterpated, smiling , laughing girl with him again! I am amazed at how it feels like it still just fits after all this time and I am amazed at the depth of my feelings after all this time. I think maybe you can only fall in love like that once. And how lucky are John and I that we found our way back to it?