friends Stress Managment One icy winter's night, I was at work. It was probably close to nine pm, and I parked at the office, got out of my car and took a step toward the office. A moment later, my feet were above my head and I was on my back,
friends Busted I grew up in a state that has a lot of skiing. And, back in the day, the more famous ski resorts actually gave out free season passes to kids. I loved skiing, and pretty much only wanted to ski moguls, the double diamonds, jump off stuff, or be in
desert This Is Art... Years ago, I was living fairly far away from my brother, and he made the trek to come see me. We spent the weekend doing a variety of things, and one of those things was going to a pretty-famous, nearby town to which he had never been. It was early
food Dirtbags Never Die My husband, back in the day, used to be a dirtbag. He lived in his truck and went climbing, and did that game. And while now he has an adult job with actual health insurance and he does things like re-screens our windows with pet-proof material, parts of his dirtbag
cats The Future is Feline... Apparently there's a threat going around. That women aren't having kids but instead are just living with cats and reading books. The joke is this is a strange threat as literally my favorite thing in the world is to be at home with my cats reading
summer Opium for Watermelons In college, I knew this girl who was a super cool, punk rocker, hippie. And while I've lost touch with her, I know she's now either a high-powered lawyer, or she's living in an Earthship in the desert. There were only ever two paths
food Food... Today I'm writing about food that changed my life. I'm talking about when you eat something that causes your brain to hard stop and wonder, how did I never know this was a thing? How often do we, as adults, get to taste something that is
desert Sensory Deprivation I was asked to participate in a team relay run. The run was something like one hundred and twenty miles total, through the desert, in March. I was put on a team with some people I knew, some I didn't, and I was given an eight mile leg
cats Maybe? I have two felines who are vocal about the the car. This has been a thing since I got them as kittens. You put them in the car and the calico begins to scream, so the grey cat, participates, and then the grey cat gets bored and stops, so the
art Did It Work? According to the internet, the original HALO computer game was released in 2001. According to my distant high school memories, this checks out. I know it came out when I was living at my parents house because my brother pre-ordered it and was counting the moments until it was delivered.
relationships Let the Spice Flow Recently, my husband had to get a gift for someone he knew. This person was a guy who took pride in his appearance. My husband, a self described present hater, did his normal deal when faced with the life event of having to give a gift. He panicked for a
art Never Meet Your Teenaged Self Recently I fell ill, like, I was so sick I didn't go to work, which means I was real sick. In my dazed state I browsed Prime and saw they were streaming A Knight's Tale which I hadn't seen since, well, probably since it
books Ode to Libby I've always been competitive. As a kid I played sports and that was a good outlet. But it became clear pretty quickly, at least to me, that I was too intrinsically motivated to have the competitive edge that would really set me apart from the other athletes. I
food When You Turn Into Your Mother I have a distinct memory from childhood. We were in the car, the entire family, in a notoriously windy canyon. I was too young to drive and was in the backseat. We came up to a yellow road sign. You know the kind, the yellow diamond. On it was an
horror I Don't Really Want to Be Here Recently I found myself at an airport and in need of a ride to my hotel. The last time I’d been traveling, I’d looked into the taxi vs. ride share prices and found, in the area in which I was, taxis were cheaper. So this time, upon having
beach The Magic Of Swimming One of the books I really liked in 2024 was Whalefall by Daniel Kraus. A friend of mine read it because I recommended it. While reading it, she texted me. WTH is with this book? And, thinking this meant she loved it, I messaged, Isn’t it great? Her response
cats Why are you like this? As mentioned, my two felines are what they were made to be, furry masses of chaos which do not give two shits about what you would prefer they were doing. One night, my husband went to bed, and the calico cat ran upstairs. Moments later, I heard the telltale sound
beach A Burger Bucket Christmas One year my husband was in an extended training in the south. It happened to extend through the month of December, and I figured we should make the most of it. I flew out there, and we went to St. Augustine, Florida for Christmas. For those of you who don’
Public Land One day, my husband decided we should go check out some of the cliffs by our house to see if there were chukar in them. A chukar is a bird that sorta, kinda looks like a quail, without a top knot, but is a bit bigger. It's a
cats Toxic is a Broad Definition As mentioned, I've got some cats. These cats destroy any plants I bring into the house. I would love to have a house full of plants, but I'd have to choose between the felines and the chlorophyl, and I guess I've already made that
autumn Marriage is Like A Forest... One beautiful autumn day, my husband and I drove way into the mountains to go bird hunting. We turned off the pavement and onto a dirt road, the aspens a beautiful gold. The road was empty save for several fully loaded logging trucks. At the trailhead, we got ready and
work The Evolution When I was brand new in my job, in my very first summer, I was asked to be a part of a photo shoot. To be clear, I am not usually asked to participate in such things. I do weird things with my face and I have a propensity for
books Gifts My husband and I have very different gift giving habits. I love giving gifts. He HATES it. He panics. It's a lifestyle, I think. I try to be compassionate, but I don't really get it. But I do acknowledge that it's real. So this
autumn The C-Store Round Two On the last day of my annual North Dakota trip, I was riding in the car with my three other travel buddies. We'd spent the week wandering around the prairie, and on our final night my male friend realized, we were out of tonic water. "Did you
