I'm a Big Girl Now

Tuition fees, paid.
Parking permit, bought.
Textbooks, purchased.
School supplies, check.

And in regards to my internship, I officially have my own caseload. Scary.

Holy cow, this is really happening!!!

T minus 2 days until my first class and my official entrance into graduate school.

::Randi grabs paper bag. Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat.::

Blogging About Politics. And my Favorite Things.

Before you get the wrong impression of this post because of its title, please know that blogging about politics is NOT one of my favorite things. I've never been the type of person who has strong political affiliations. Don't get me wrong, I do have opinions about certain issues (and candidates, for that matter), but the point of this blog is not for me to preach about my own opinions.

So I vowed to myself, for the sake of my readers, that I would never post anything political on my blog. And I intend to keep that promise. But you all should know that I am having a very hard time doing so because of one particular issue that I feel strongly about involving health care reform. Those of you who know me well know how I feel this way, and why I feel this way, because of the state that I live in and the exposure that I've had to underprivileged populations, along with my own experience with health care costs and dealings with a greedy insurance company who can't seem to ever make an error in my favor.

So with that, I will change the subject. Keeping with your suggestions (thank you to all who commented on my last post), here is my current list of my Favorite Things, with some pictures included:

• The Nest Great website for finding recipes, getting decorating ideas, and overall just being a newlywed.
• half.com This website has awesome deals on textbooks!!!
• I've been swooning over this entertainment stand for about a year now. One of these days we might actually buy it.

• My new laptop!!!!! It's a Dell Studio 14 and I ♥ it!!! I bought it in red for school.

• This Moroccan Oil Hydrating Mask. It smells sooooo good, and it works on any hair type!

• These books, which are a few of my summer reads:

Beautiful Boy by David Sheff

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Hope's Boy by Andrew Bridge

Okay, I think that is all for now. Keep those comments comin'!

Hello Out There!!!!!!

Is anybody there???

I swear that I can hear the echo of my own voice in this place.

Is it because my posts have been dreadfully boring???? I sure hope not. But if that is the case, I welcome feedback and helpful criticism on topics that may be, more, well, interesting & entertaining.

When no one leaves comments on my posts, that leads me to believe that no one is even reading the blog anymore.

::insert whiney temper tantrum here::

Here's an idea, if you read my posts and like or dislike the content, leave me a comment! Please, I beg of you!!!!!

That is all.

My Dearest Mother

Today, August 11th, celebrates the anniversary of the day my mother was brought into the world. This year is a particularly important birthday for her (although I won't mention specifics), so I thought it fitting to mark this momentous occasion with a post dedicated to my amazing mother, who's always been my role model for what a great wife and mom looks like. (She's also one hell of a strong woman!!!)

Allow me to clear my throat.

:: ahem ::

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Mah-ahm, Happy Birthday to you!!!!!"

I love you Mom!!!!!

A Compilation of Sorts

The post you are about to read has absolutely nothing to do with anything that is going on in the lives of P & R right now. Our personal lives are a bit in shambles right now, due to some family issues, and I've spent the better part of last week trying to fly under the radar, because blogging about what's really going on around here could cause some serious drama. So instead I'm going to add an entry that I hope will humor y'all.

Our local newspaper in Montana, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, is overall a reputable newspaper (as far as small-town news media goes). However, the content included in the daily police reports is one exception. My older brother made somewhat of a game out of taping the particularly hilarious ones to the door of his bedroom, a tradition which I continued when that bedroom became mine. So during our last visit home, my mom gave me a stack of police report pages that she had saved for me. Instead of keeping the hilarity to myself, I'm going to do my good deed for society by sharing them with everyone. Please understand that this post is meant to be taken sarcastically, and with a grain of salt.

Enjoy!

• June 6th, 2009: "A woman reported that someone is dumping their trash in her dumpster. She said she went through the trash and found evidence of possible suspects."
• June 7th, 2009: "Police arrested a 39-year old Bozeman pickup driver for assault and cited a 37-year old Bozeman bicyclist for disorderly conduct after the bicyclist became upset, believing the truck had cut him off. The two exchanged words, the bicyclist said the driver should have respect for bikes, then ran the front of his bike into the truck. The driver jumped out and punched the bicyclist five to eight times in the face."
• June 7th, 2009: "A woman reported to police her ex-boyfriend was threatening to let her birds go while she was out of town. However, the birds did not appear to have been released." (Phew, I was worried)
• June 8th, 2009: "A man in a red sports car convertible was reported for asking two small girls to find his small dog. An officer determined he really was looking for his dog."
• June 8th, 2009: "Domestic abuse was reported on River Road, where a daughter said her 56-year old mother had been drinking and hitting her (NOT funny). There were no weapons, she said, but stated that her mother is a weapon (hilarious)."
• June 9th, 2009: "A boy tipped over a porta-potty in Kirk Park around 1pm. His parents were notified and the porta-potty was returned to its upright position and cleaned." (Thank goodness those of you who regularly use the restroom in Kirk Park can pee in confidence).
• June 12th, 2009: "A man was seen behind the mall around 10 am with something over his head doing push-ups and stretching. He was waiting for the theater to open."
• June 17th, 2009: "Four of five high school kids with flashlights near a trailer court on East Griffin Drive 'looked like they were up to no good', according to authorities." (Oh dear God, no!!!! Someone call 9-1-1!!!!!)
• June 18th, 2009: "A deputy checked on a man who was shining a flashlight outside on Pebblebrook Road around 12:30am. The man was searching for his keys and 'unfortunately the deputy was not much help in locating the keys either.' " (darn!)
• June 18th, 2009: "Several gallons of red Jell-O were dumped into a boat parked on Sunfield Drive staining the seats and carpet 'as well as leaving a very large sticky mess.' The case is being investigated."
• June 20th, 2009: "A resident of Boylan Road asked to speak with an officer 'about noise associated with tee time at the golf course'." (Boo)
• June 21, 2009: "Bags of 'poo' were left on a Highland Blvd. resident's doorstep several times before he called it in. He also advised officers that one bag came with a note asking him to pick up his dog's 'poo'." (Dear dog owners: please pick up your 'poo', lest you risk ending up with your dog's 'poo in a bag on your doorstep)
• June 25th, 2009: "A woman couldn't stain her deck because three dogs were running loose in the area. She described them as a 'beagle, a little white hairy thing, and a medium white hairy thing'." (Thank you, ma'am, for such a helpful description!)

And now for my personal favorite. Believe me, this one is a true gem.

::drumroll please::

• June 15th, 2009: "A person reported his brother was calling him nonstop and conversing about nonsensical topics such as two-handed swords and Kentucky Fried Chicken. The person requested a welfare check after the conversation topics got more serious."

The previous message was brought to you by the folks at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, who apparently have nothing better to do than post the minute details of every single random police report (ridiculous, irrelevant content included at no extra charge).

Happy Monday!

Home (aka Montucky, Bozeangeles, MAN-tana, Livingstone, etc etc)

Whew, I cannot believe how quickly this summer is going by! I feel like just yesterday I was whining and complaining about being bored, and all of a sudden I blinked and July was over. This has been, by far, the busiest month we've had in the 2 years we've lived here. Between the ongoing recovery process, Bakersfield for the 4th, having family in town, San Fran for a weekend trip, my Portland trip to visit one of my best friends, and then Montana for a week, this month has been packed full of excitement!

I can never seem to take enough pictures of Paradise Valley when we are visiting Montana. I have hundreds of pictures of this place I love so much. Here is my favorite from this trip:



Here are some pics of our floating adventure on the Yellowstone. The river was really brown and blown-out. And believe me, the water was smokin'. But luckily, the weather held out for us and we had a great float!



We spent a few days at Pine Creek camping and enjoying the mild weather. (Pine Creek is the campground right up the road from our wedding site, FYI). This place holds lots of memories for me, and it always makes me feel nostaligic to spend time here. I truly had a blessed childhood to be able to grow up in such a beautiful place.

We took a walk down to the church camp and attempted to recreate some of our wedding photos.


Recognize this road???

As much as I detest sitting in the car for 15 hours on the drive to and from Montana, I love having this time to talk about anything and everything with the best conversational partner a girl could ask for. :) On our long drive back, we discussed (among other things) the feeling of being out-of-staters for the first time since we moved away. Although I miss my family terribly, this is the first time I was truly happy to return to California and all the things the future has in store for us. Although Montana is "home", I can't shake the feeling that home has become more about where my husband is than where I grew up. This is where we have built a life as husband and wife. Someday, we hope to continue that life in Montana. But for now, home is California.