I Had To Walk Up A Hill!! Barefoot!! In The Snow!! (Also known as: Vacation Post, Part Deux)

So, where was I?

Oh yeah-when we last left off, Jake and I were on our way from the Meteor Crater in Winslow, AZ to Flagstaff, AZ, where we planned to stay before visiting the Grand Canyon the following day. Well, the further up the mountain we went, the worse the snow became, thanks to a horrendous storm that was barreling down on us. By the time we reached Flagstaff, there was already a good 4-6 inches on the ground, and it was still coming down. The roads weren't too bad, as long as you were careful, and we stopped at the motel we would be staying in for the night. After unloading everything from the car and putting it in the room, I cranked up the heat (it was cold!) and we decided to see if we could find a Wal*Mart to get a couple of things I forgot to bring with us, along with some dinner. Well, we didn't find the Wal*Mart, because we took a wrong turn and ended up in the old "Route 66" part of Flagstaff. We ended up stopping at a Family*Dollar and made our purchases as quickly as possible, since it was after dark, and a sports car and slick roads do not mix well. Well, by the time we got back to the room, it was STILL cold!! I figured out that the heater was broken, and after switching rooms, we settled in for the evening and the snow kept falling while we slumbered.

The next morning, Jake comes barging into the room with breakfast from downstairs and announces that we'll be lucky to get out of there because he'd been up since 5 am (it was 8 by this time) and despite brushing the snow off the car then, it was now covered with another almost 4 inches, on top of what had been falling all night. There were also cars stuck at both the entrance and exit to the motel, and who knows when they'd get unstuck, and the manager was downstairs, cursing in a foreign language-panic was rampant. Trust me, it was a very dramatic moment. To make things worse, I was on my period and very emotional, so when I started to become weepy at the prospect of being stuck in Flagstaff for the rest of my vacation, Jake snapped at me, only making things worse. We went downstairs with my determination to dig us out, (damn it!!) and for me to eat breakfast while there was still any left. Jake at least had the foresight to turn our car around at 5 am, and park backwards in the space, to make it easier to get out. So, we proceeded to use the motel's snow shovel and got to digging! The snow was between 8-24 inches, depending on where the drifts were. But, by golly, we dug, and we got that car clear!! I'd already packed everything up to make for a quick exit, and we rushed downstairs with our bags, throwing them haphazardly into the back of the car. But before leaving I took these three photos from our room to prove how bad it got. Despite all of our hard work, we still weren't sure if we'd actually be able to make it out of the parking lot. I give total credit to Jake's driving skills for getting us out of there. Needless to say, we decided that the Grand Canyon trip was a bust. There was no way we'd safely make it up there.

However, this was not to be the end of our drama. Once on the freeway, the snow was still falling, and everyone was driving 20 mph down the mountain, in the middle of the road. Cars and trucks were off the road, where they had slid before coming to a stop. The trees and ground were covered, and the wind started picking up-blowing the snow even harder. It was a tense ride, but the further we descended down the mountain, the better the driving conditions became. Unfortunately, after we were about an hour away from the motel, I remembered that I had lent Jake my beloved (deceased) Papaw's pocket knife to open something with, and I didn't recall him giving it back. He said he had left it on the night stand, thinking I'd see it. Well, I didn't, and that meant that we had left it behind in our rush to flee the area before more snow could fall. I immediately burst into hysterical sobs, as this was the only physical thing I had left of my Papaw, and I was so mad at Jake I couldn't see straight. I finally came to my senses enough to call the motel and ask that if they found it, could they please hang on to it, until we came back through on our way home? The manager said he would, but my phone died from a bad cell area before I could give him my cell number. All we could do is cross our fingers, and hope the maid found it and turned it in. Since there was nothing we could do, we resolved to enjoy the rest of our vacation, and continued on to.......

Vegas, baby!!! VEGAS!!!!

(to be continued.......)

Inappropriate Wedding Reception Songs

So, I was ruminating about nonsensical things, and I was thinking "What are some really inappropriate songs that I've heard at weddings?" Now, I'm not just talking about sexually-themed songs, but songs that may have the theme of "love" to them, but don't apply to the newly-wed. Here are some examples I've come up with (listed below), and I want all of you to reply to this-adding your own selections. Let's see what we can come up with! Bonus points if you've actually heard these at a wedding!!

1. "The Dance" by Garth Brooks (this song is about a couple that broke up, stupid!!)

2. "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion (Um, don't you remember that Jack DIED at the end?! Is that the thought you want to enter wedded bliss with?)

3. "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton/Whitney Houston (A good-bye song from a hooker, in the Dolly Parton version)

4. "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC (While I LOVE this song, I don't exactly want the image it conjures in the head of my parents before I head off for my wedding night...ewwww)

5. "I Know" by Jude (A song about a relationship with a lonely guy and an emotionally/physically insecure woman. It's a gorgeous song, but I thought it was an interesting "first dance" choice for my brother-in-law and his wife)

Technical Difficulties *Updated*

***Ok, apparantly I'm an HTML idiot. I managed to fix the problem myself, thanks to some help on the Blogger forums. I was trying to upload a video of Prince's "When Doves Cry" for the "Tuesday Goodness" post. Well, I guess something was wrong w/the html or the link was too long for IE, and it not only caused my sidebar to drop to the bottom, but it made it so I couldn't even delete my posts. However, when I went into edit mode, and deleted the "blank box" that was in the posts, then republished-voila!! It worked! Not only could I delete my posts, but my sidebar was back on the side! Oh well, at least it's fixed now. I'm leaving this post up, in case any other Blogger user has a similar problem.***

I'm having Blogger issues with my posts (hence the 2 blank "Tuesday Goodness" posts below), so until the tech support people get back to me, installment #2 of my vacation adventures will have to wait.

In the meantime, I will try to do a funny post to keep you occupied.

Thanks for understanding!

The Long Awaited Vacation Post (Part I)

So, about my vacation--other than a couple of snags, it was everything I'd wanted it to be and more. Here are some of the highlights:


We started off heading west on I-40, going through western Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, and the New Mexico desert, before stopping for the night at a HoJo in Albuquerque. The room had a king sized bed, something Jake and I are not used to sleeping on, as we have a full size at home. Seeing as how we like to cuddle in our sleep, more than half the bed went to waste.

The next morning, we headed off to our next destination: Flagstaff, AZ, with a quick stop at the meteor crater in Winslow. Jake has always wanted to see the crater, ever since he saw "Starman" as a kid. First, we had to cross the Navajo reservation in NM. What a beautiful part of the country! We definitely felt we were in the "State of Enchantment". As we headed into the mountains, the temperature began to fall, as did the snow. By the time we reached this point, it was really coming down. Being the anal-retentive planner that I am, I was already expecting this and had prepared thusly by ensuring our coats were within easy reach, and that we had a blanket and supplies, "just in case". The roads were still pretty good at this point, and since we were descending down the mountain into Arizona, they only improved as we went along.


Considering that it is essentially a big hole in the ground, the Meteor Crater is, quite simply, an amazing sight to behold. To think that a giant piece of rock fell out of the sky from space to come hurtling down and slam into the Earth is an astounding thought. My photos of the Crater do not do it justice. The sheer enormity of its size is intimidating, and makes you leery of any other such catastrophes occurring in our lifetime. While we were at the Crater, a massive storm system was bearing down on us from the West, whipping up the wind and blowing snow everywhere. We were freezing our collective asses off while admiring the view, although it was completely worth it. For any of you considering checking out this natural wonder, I highly recommend that you do, however, please note that there is a charge to get in. We had to pay $15/person for the adult rate. Jake was slightly griping about the price, but I reminded him that this is the National Park Service we're talking about, and this poor, under-funded agency needs all the money it can get. All in all, despite the cold and the price, it was a great little stop along our way, and I would definitely go there again.

Next up: Flagstaff! Or: How The Heck Do We Dig Ourselves Out Of This Snow?!!