Stone Free

Well everyone, I have succeeded once again! And boy do I feel better! I had a horrible night of nausea and a feeling of being toxic. Once I passed the stones this morning I felt like a new woman. I am so thankful that I have the ability to clean my body this way. It's amazing!

The LuLu

I found the LuLu... mmmm...looks good. Why have I never looked at this on the menu? Where have I been?

The legend of Mt. Sorenson

This is a video me hitting one the many jumps on the Mt. Sorenson trail that we (Andy, and Tristan Mastro, and myself) ride almost every time we visit.
My mom insisted i post this...

The LuLu Special

i was riding the train home from the city when i looked out the window and noticed a restaurant named "Jimmy John's. " i wondered if it was the same kind as in san jorge, but then i thought no, it can't be. i wanted to get off the train and check it out, but it was still far from my new home and then i'd have to wait for the next train and i didn't know how long that would be. the next day, i stopped at a drug store about 2 miles from my train station. i looked up and low and behold, i saw the sign that read "Jimmy John's." i stopped in tonight after i got off the train from the city. i read the menu and it is the same menu as it is in san jorge. i remember because they had a sandwich named "lulu something" in san jorge and they had the same one here. little did i know that when i left claifornia and said goodbye to "in and out", i'd get to illinois and say hello to "jimmy john's" subs so fast you'll freak! the only problem is that i can't remember what alex used to order... so can someone clue me in?
so far, things are going well. the train station is about 20 minutes from my new home and when i get off the train in the city, the bar review course is 2 blocks down. it's only an hour train ride and i never get stuck in traffic.
the course is going okay, but it's not very exciting, so there's not a lot to say about it except that it's 4 hours long and feels like 8. i study in the morning before i have to catch the 11:10am train and then i study when i get home around 7pm.
i'll try to post pictures of my room when i can. actually, it's a studio apartment. i have a sitting area with a sofa and chair and a really big flatscreen. then i have a king bed, a walk-in closet, my own bathroom and kitchenette. however, i don't really use the kitchenette. kelly's parents don't care if i use the big kitchen.
i'm getting used to my new life and new home.

Funny DUI

Walker Pass

Skookum Forest

Ever been "OUT" in the wild places and felt eyes on your back? Ever stood in a clearing with a view, wind in your face, hawk in the sky.... waiting to hear a pin drop?
No???? Then Ian & I have the perfect spot for you... an insanely high mountain pass in the southern sierras recently stripped of all its' green glory by fire... we were reminded of our time there by a show we saw late last night about "Sasquatch" (called Skookum by the Native Americans).... too much to go into here... but you know what got me really excited? The unknown. I LOVE that there is so much that we don't understand... lifetimes of learning and discovery at our feet....
I am trying this morning to apply that feeling to my life and grin at the blank slate that is in front of me.....
so grateful for the blessing of family and love to accompany me on the trip...
I wanted so badly this weekend in Arrowhead to be able to turn onto Sequoia, park on the little access road , and go HOME... hold the girls in my arms, watch Bemy in the kitchen, joke with Alex, sit by Dad (with his feet up) on the orange couch....
Never able to revisit that place in TIME, but acutely aware that it is always alive in the concrete bonds of love that we share with eachother....

I love you all!
-una mananita alegre! -

Gallstone Flush

Well, it is time once again for another gallstone flush. I started drinking the magic solution today. I'm really not feeling it at all! Oh well, it must be done! My gallbladder has been hurting for about a week now. Anyway, don't want to bore you about my flush. You should hear about this guy at Mikes work. He did a parasite flush and flushed out ten 7 " long Parasites over three months! Disgusting huh! I'm thinking my gallstones flush sounds pretty wimpy about now! I think I might have to try that one next. I'll keep you guys posted on the stones. I should get some out on Saturday. Wish me luck!!!

For Emmet

Janna, Emmet needs this seat. It might be a little too scary for him but it is sooo rock star... just like Emmet. It's a Britax Marathon cover and it's on ebay.

HOLLA

How funny is this face? It looks like me for some reason.

Awww

What a ballerina... nice balance.

What is DeAnna Thinking?

Okay. Where do I start... Did you guys see the Bachelorette? First of all, it is so obvious that her and the Geremy guy are going to get married. They are already like a married couple. Plus, the fact that they both share common ground with losing their parents -- it's pretty much a done deal. But what in the world was she thinking when she got rid of the hot, virgin football player -- Hello! He was hot. Where can I get his number? Lameass also voted off a tall, cute, very normal pharmaceutical rep, but she keeps the Karate guy with a mullet?? huh?? And the "toole" guy, who jumped out of the bushes. I don't know, girls, if I can go on watching this season, I'm just too angry that she voted off hot football player. What was his name? You know what I think happened is that Geremy ran and told DeAnna that "Hot Guy" called him a name, so she had to vote him off. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest, I know feel better.

Last Leg of the Drive to Chicago

hi everyone, i got to kellie's parents house about 4 p.m. and was greeted with open arms. i can't believe i thought about driving straight through the night before! good thing i changed my mind because the 5 hour drive on sunday felt like the longest 5 hours of my life. the hydrangeas survived the drive pretty well. in fact the hydrangea that bemy took a clipping from already has new growth that is about 1 inch tall! even the hydrangea that didn't look so good has visible new buds.
after i got to kellie's parents house (mimi and papa), we (mimi, papa, kellie, me and her 2 kids cole and logan) hung out for a little while and then went to dinner at a restaurant/ bar on lake michigan that had a beach feel. it didn't feel like i was that far from so cal even though i was.
kellie's daughter, logan, had to wear her cinderella princess dress to dinner. i think she may have been a little overdressed...
after dinner, i went back to kellie's house. we put cole and logan to bed and then watched "blades of glory." then it started to storm, tons of rain and thunder. the kids got scared and slept with me and kellie in her bed (her husband brandon is out of town.)
at the end of the day, it was a very good birthday. love you guys!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LU!

Kid scared to sing happy birthday on Kimmel

Happy Birthday, Lu!!!! Love you tons, Cara

Drive from Colorado to Iowa

as you all know, i got to des moines, iowa today. the drive was fine. nothing exciting. i drove for about 11 1/2 hours today or 750 miles. i entertained the thought of going strainght through which would have been a total of about 16 hours and about 1100 miles. i obviously changed my mind which i know you all are glad to hear. the strangest part about the drive is that most of the way i listened to nothing. i tried listening to bar review lectures on cd, unfortunately, they put me to sleep. not so good when driving. fyi: if anyone ever needs some great non-medicated sleep aids, i've got what you need! and plenty to go around.
well, most of the trip is over-only about 4 to 5 hours left. at first i was worried that the drive would be so taxing that i would not want to come back to so cal to pick up the rest of my things and do the drive again. but now, i am not worried, the drive has been so enjoyable, especially from san jorge to breckenridge. now, i am actually looking forward to doing it again! the 2 things that make the drive so worth it are seeing all of you guys and then the next day seeing my sister. when i first planned the trip, i thought that i would be going out of my way to see my sister. but i didn't care, it's my sister. then i realized that she is actually on the way. i only had to veer off the highway for about 10 minutes to get to her house. we had a lot of fun. the weather was cold and snowy, but we went shopping...ya know. she, melanie, lives in downtown breckenridge, so we could walk to all the restaurants and bars and not worry about driving and parking.
i'll post pictures when i get them developed or if i can't then you guys can access them through my winkflash account.
anyway, i guess that's it for this post, but i love this blog thing! it's so much fun! love ya guys, lu.

Thanks to Bemy, Mike and I got out of the house for a date! Started the date with sushi at Samari 21. Ate a huge piece of raw fish and almost puked! I usually love that stuff, but I guess I'll stick with just the sushi rolls next time. At the lovely St George Stadium 10 we saw Baby Mama. It was so funny I almost peed my pants (you all should see it) . I need to get my bodily functions under control. Time to cozy in on this rainy, chilly desert night. With the man I started dating 8 years ago who I now call my loving husband.

WE LEFT THE HOUSE

Congratulations to the weather today for seeing fit to let us out of the house.

INSANE IN THE BRAIN

Why yea, it IS 1:40 a.m. and I still have not gone to bed. I laid down at 10:30 and Anika was up at 11:00. She went back to sleep then woke up again and threw bunny out of the crib. She hasn't done that forever so I thought it must have been on accident and went in to give it back. And here I am...we've played, watched TV, tried to rock her. She is back in her crib now but more like a caged wild animal. Oh wait, I think she's quiet... must have finally snuggled up to bunny and went to sleep. Maybe Mama can now do the same. At least I have this to keep me entertained while the adrenaline metabolizes in my blood, and then I can finally shut my eyes for the first time tonight. Me thinks no Pine Valley in the morning? It's going to be freezing up there anyway.

hi everyone, i made it colorado just fine. and when it rained, i slowed down and when i got tired i pulled over... the drive from san jorge to breckenridge is beautiful. i wanted to stop every 10 minutes to take pictures, but if i did that, then i would still be on the road. i got to my sister's house about 6:30pm. it was totally snowing once i got into the mountains, but nothing was sticking on the road. it was definitely a nice drive. love you all and see ya soon ! lu.

Laura's visit to SG. Oh, by the way, Laura's new name is officially Lu. Do not call her Laura. That was Alex's request which we ignored. Sorry, Alex! Laura arrived at Cara's beach cottage at 9 p.m. Tuesday night. She was greeted by Bem, Alana, Janna and Me. We stayed up until 1:00 a.m. Wednesday we all headed out to lunch to the usual, Pasta Factory. It was good. The bread was exceptionally good! We then headed over to Alana's new "Better Homes and Gardens" pad. Whoever Alana hired as her ID (interior designer) I've got to use her for my place. We all just lounged and watched Anika and Emmet go crazy. We all broke for naps around 3ish. We then came back over to my pad and feasted on Panda Express. Boy, can we eat! That's all we do. After din/din, we headed over to Bem's so Brandon and Mike could take apart Bem's dining table to send back to Pier 1. It's not for sure but there is a rumor out there that Brandon is considering building Bem her own BL table. After hanging at Bem's all the girls returned to my place and watched a little American Idol and played our new favorite game with Lu. Our new favorite game is guessing answers from Lu's Bar prep course book. It's quite fun! Anyway, Lu left my house this morning at 9ish. She is headed to her sister's house in Colorado, a ten-hour drive, yuck! It was great having her here.

Well, for those who havn't seen my "beach cottage" here are a few photos. The Ikea chairs were a new addition just this week. I am thrilled with the new chairs. The really enhance the look of the table, don't you think?

Church of the Woods (AKA Kern River in April)

Hey!!!
I did it!!! :)
"Today is the first day of the rest of what's left of my life"
-Kermit the frog

CAR SEAT BLISS

All right, I suppose I will post the first worthless item. All I've got for you is a photo of my car seat I just ordered. Gosh, that's empty and worldly to post about, but isn't it soooo cute? I can't wait for it to get here. I think this blog is off to a good start. I'd like to see the microdermabrasion kit Cara just got. Ahh, chicks.