To Montana and Back.

Howdy Folks! Okay, Montana might not be THAT country.

I just got back from spending time at the Crow Agency of Montana. I was on a scouting trip with Fab Nicole (you have heard me talk about her before). Heard? Read? You know what I mean. She is the co-worker who makes appearances on my blog due to how awesome and fabulous she is.

We spent time meeting with out location partners, getting lost, encountering cattle etc. I won’t bore you with the work stuff, but I thought I would post some pretty pictures of Montana!

Below you will see a Native American “Sweat”… It is more or less a sauna. What we didn’t know was that it is commonly occupied by groups as large as 8 people. And that they are naked!!! We were desperate to wash our hands after that. As one friend so eloquently put it, “You basically just had your hand on some random sweaty butt.”

Inside the 'sweat.' 

This is the Little Bighorn Battlefield. It is the location of Custer’s Last Stand. They had a super cool museum of artifacts from the battle. Nicole and I quickly became obsessed with learning about the expansion west, how it all happened, why etc. It was the topic of many of our drive-time discussions. Note: It wasn’t very long ago! (1876) Think about it. There were probably still native warriors alive in 1950.

After the battle the US government came in and did a burial of the soldiers from the armed forces who died in the battle. We lost that one… just incase you didn’t know. Like majorly lost. But really, no one was a winner after those battles. Even when we won, we had to be the jerks who took the land via force.

Later we went out to the Ok-A-Beh Marina. It was beautiful. These pictures do not do it justice.

You may be wondering: “Didn’t your friend Marina just move to Montana?” If you thought that, then you are a true reader/ friend. And yes, she did. But I was WAY far all the way east from Billings so I didn’t get to see her. I am now wondering if she is secretly a Sioux and if she was named after Ok-A-Beh.

Nicole and I on the other hand gave ourselves Native American names:
Nicole: Snots on Hand.
Me: Running Cow.

Ponder this: Do you paint with all the colors of the wind?

A real vacation to the OC and LB.

Happy Friday!

Finally I will post about the stellar vacation I just took with some lady friends. We went down to Newport Beach, CA for some sun and relaxation (It was just like The OC and Laguna Beach... but without the drama, winter formals, affairs, or untimely deaths).

Honestly, the best parts about this vacation were the sleeping-in and the laughter. The friends I traveled with are low-maintenance friendships and it made the trip super care-free.

Here are some photos of our fabulous time!

We spent time here...

While looking at this.

Did an evening in Laguna.

Played on the beach.

Guarded lives. 

Goofed around here. 

Yes, that is a water bottle bloody mary. 

Sheesh. That was a lot of pictures. Anywho, ‘twas a grand ole time! We ate a lot of food, went to a bunch of different beaches, spent time on Balboa with Caitlin's family, ate frozen bananas, drank adult beverages and read at the pool... really the list could go on forever.

I still haven't unpacked... so I'm off to do laundry!

Laguna Beach on Dwellable

Did you miss me? And an editorial letter to TLC.

Did you miss me? I know you might not know me in real life. And that I wasn't actually gone from my blog… But still. Did you?

I just got back from a fab trip! I will do a real post about it before long. But I first wanted to write about travel. Well, a show about travel.

There is a new TLC show called On The Fly. It highlights how crazy people/ travelers are and how perfect the airlines are. I am pretty sure the point of this show is to make the travelers look like the enemies and the airlines look better… because we all know how annoying and stupid airlines are in real life. It is an attempt to boost their image. Pretty smart PR, but it doesn’t really work.

Airport personnel are supposed to be the hero in this “reality show.” You know, by continuing to smile as people get pissed that their flight was delayed. What they don’t show is people being groped by security, warranted reactions to unexpected charges, someone digging through their bag like a deranged animal at the check-in desk to try and make it lighter (in order to avoid another $50 fee).

The show is really beyond ridiculous. We have all had difficult travel experiences before… therefore this show is not entertaining! All it does is bring back damaging memories of frustrating experiences with airlines. Nice try On The Fly. You aren’t fooling us!
____________

Dear TLC,

The airlines will never be the hero. If they stop charging us for every little thing, maybe they will make it on to the list of things we are indifferent about.  But until then, they stay on our hit-list. Crap, I can’t say hit-list in regard to airlines. Um… I mean... list of people we don't like that much (in a non-terrorist way). Don’t call TSA on me.

You should probably just cancel On The Fly. It is stupid and we will never like it. Also, play more Say Yes to The Dress and less Cake Boss. Thanks.

Sincerely, Laura
_____________

Here is a sneak peek of our trip. It is the only picture that was on Facebook. I haven’t quite gotten around to uploading my photos.

Woop woop! Leaving on a jet plane!

Woohoo! TGIF!

Why am I so excited that it is the weekend?

Well, I am off on one of these:

To go have some of these:

Moscow Mule and Bloody Mary. Two of my favorites! 

To use some of this:

No wrinkles here!

While spending my time here:

Have great weekends everyone!

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Living in the in-between.

I apologize in advance for the non-funny that is this post.

Lately I have had some overwhelming conversations with myself, with friends and with God. If I took a moment to listen to what God has to say back to me maybe they wouldn’t be that way… alas, I am a blabberer… even in prayer.

I have been recently been plagued by the stagnant state of my life. I know I am where I need to be, I am just used to living with the “next thing” in sight. Throughout my life there has always been something next, whether it was an impending graduation, getting a new job, moving out etc. Now I am living. This is life and I am living it! Don’t get me wrong, I am happy! It is just weird. Some of my friends had grad school next and are in that, with graduations and careers to look forward to. Currently some of my friends are changing jobs, moving cities, studying for the GRE, or are in relationships that will turn into a marriage within the next couple of years. It just makes me feel… stagnant.

Stagnant is the only word I can think of to describe how I feel. I know I am doing important things in my life and that I am right where God wants me. It is just a different state than I have ever been in before. There has always been a life-moving-something ahead. I am not looking for answers really, just more so wanted to share my experience right now. Just in case any of you 20-somethings are going through the same life evolution (and evaluation) that I am. You are not alone!

I can’t wait to see what is in store for my future! Maybe that is my problem. I just need some patience! Deep breaths… in the mean time, let’s get some fro-yo.

Now let’s think about the other kind of Sirius:

Sirius Black

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From Obsessed to Obsauced.

Sometimes my friends create new words. It isn't that weird. I feel like this is the case in many people’s lives. I instantly think of Happy Endings and how the character of Penny says ah-mah-zing. Her friends initially made fun of her before accepting it as hilarious and as unique to the quirkiness of Penny.

This type of scenario happens in my life on a fairly regular basis. Whether it is an unflattering nickname that sticks (poor Chubs), or a mispronunciation that will be said forever at that persons expense, there are words that are unique to my group of friends. But unlike Happy Endings, we will all start saying it around one another as a joke… until we say it in front of a stranger who blankly stares. Believe me, when someone calls Chelsii “Chubs” in public, strangers take notice.

The other night my friend Marina said she was obsauced with a nail color. I know this word came up later and somehow transitioned into the word obsoissed.

Yesterday an email chain discussion began about the merits of the two word hybrids.

Email from Martha:

Obsauced is literally 42 times better.

Here's why: It combines two words that actually are awesome.

Sauce: Which, if we're talking BBQ is delicious! If we're talking chocolate? Also delicious. I can't think of many sauces that aren't delicious. Sauce.

Obsessed: A word I say almost as much as I say “literally.”

I am literally obsessed with the word obsessed. When I say literally, what I'm saying may not be LITERAL. But I am still, literally obsessed. Literally. Obsessed.

If I may quote an email I received from Marina earlier this week, I can relate to the word obsauced "both metaphorically and over arching, as well as literally".  

Consensus is thus: Obsoissed is out. Obsauced is in. Thank you Martha for the detailed reasoning.

Yes. These are the people I choose to spend my time with… don’t judge. I wanted to post about this simply to share what my life (in terms of email and intellectual reasoning) is like. I hope you enjoyed!

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Congrats! You win a participation award.

Hi friends. It is time for me to talk about the participation award. I totally hate them. But do you want to know who hates them more? My mother. She will rant about how stupid the idea of a participation award is. I have always wondered why she feels this way, but now as an “adult” I think I know where she is coming from.

If we are trained since childhood that if we try hard (or really just show up) we get a trophy or ribbon, what is going to happen to us as adults?

I try hard at my job.
Does that mean I am going to be super rich? No. But they should probably give me extra money for showing up. Someone else got the promotion I was up for? Where is the freaking consolation prize? Not even a boom box or pair of rollerblades? Damn you Legends of the Hidden Temple.

I “put myself out there.”
So my good friend is engaged. I’m not, but I actively make myself available to potential dates. I have had long term relationships before. They just happened to not work out. Do I get a participation diamond ring? I partook in the love thing… where is my jewelry?! Did I miss the party at Round Table Pizza when they passed them out?

I have come to loathe the idea of the participation award as much as my mom. We all participate in life as much as the next person; it just isn’t our time to come out on top… So let’s wait and see what the future holds.

It has taken me 25 years to accept this. Therefore, I think we should start these lessons earlier in life. When I have kids, I am going to hide their soccer trophies.

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