Fire Season

Fire Season has begun. It’s in full force around here, and its no fun.

There’s a huge fire ripping through the Angeles National Forest, and it’s destroying everything in it’s path.

One of our trainers lives in that area, and was told to leave. She packed up her animals and everything she felt she couldn’t live without, and left. I guess this is one reason people have larger vehicles.

It’s not near my house, but it’s definitely visible from my front yard….

I sit and stare at the television, watching in horror as people let their horses out of stalls to run away from the fire. I think about the sacrifices people make in order to attempt to save their homes. It makes me sad. I live in a fire zone. I work in a fire zone. Every day, evacuation and fire safety are on our minds. Every. Day. As much as rain can sometimes be a pain, it really is our favorite weather option.

I have a five week housesitting gig, but unfortunately, it’s in fire zone also. We have discussed specific plans just in case. Hope I don’t have to execute them. It’s looking like it’s going to be a gnarly summer. :-/

What a day.

Hello.

Sometimes I get overwhelmed at how wonderfully a day goes. It’s an “awe” moment, when you realize not everything sucks.

Woke up at 4:30am this morning. I don’t know what’s going on with me, but I haven’t been able to sleep through the night in over a MONTH! It’s horrible. I wake up and am awake for an hour or more. I finally fall back asleep, and the dogs wake me up. It’s. So. Annoying. I miss sleep. Once I stepped outside to leave for work, I saw the beauty in the day. The overcast was welcomed.

My bosses and I have been talking about changing my office computer to a Mac for a few weeks now. Everyone knows…I am Val, and I’m a PC. My uncomfortableness and skepticism about it’s usage, made it difficult to persuade them against it. Every day I deal with Mac users. There are times when I hear we can’t open this. Aren’t Mac and PC supposed to be compatible? I tried to fight it, but in the end, I had to tell myself Get over it. You’re not an idiot. You’ll figure it out. Stop being afraid of failure.

And so, Boss#2 and I went to the Mac store and bought one. The large screen makes my office seem funny now. It’ll take some time to get used to it. I think it’s too big. When you have to turn your head left and right to see the whole thing, it’s a bit overkill.

I heard bff@work on the phone with his wife talking about having pizza for dinner. On my drive home, I started thinking about how good that sounded. I didn’t want to order pizza (cause I never eat it all-just ends up being a waste), so I settled for a frozen pizza. I really wish I hadn’t.

I settled on the couch to watch NCIS. So glad I did. I was gonna watch something else, but didn’t. Figured it could wait, and Gibbs couldn’t. Mmm.

I balled my eyes out while watching it. Uncontrollable crying. It was ugly, but necessary. And it was the first time I had cried in months. All the emotions and feelings came flooding out. All because of a television show. A very good television show.

What the hell is wrong with Hope? Maks was obviously spoken to by the head honchos at DWTS because he’s been real cheerful and smiley ever since his outburst. But Hope? Really? We get that you’re stressed. We get that you’re hurt. We get that your competitiveness is shinning out and showing us exactly how much you hate to lose. We get it. But we’re tired of it. As much as I hate to see Maks gone, I hope you get the boot this week.

Okay, enough from me. I’m exhausted (if only I could actually sleep), and I need to be at the ranch early to play with the new computer. Transferring files will be a better part of my morning. All while trying to get other things done. I can’t wait!

Till next time…

Tomorrow

Whoa! I started writing this on Tuesday evening. It’s officially Wednesday morning. Geez. Where does the time go? What did I actually get accomplished between the time I started this and the time I finished? Hmm. Damn Friends reruns draw my attention.

Woke up kind of late this morning because the sun didn’t come out. Weird. At 7:21am, I glanced at the clock with half open eyes. I figured it couldn’t be too late because the sun hadn’t even come out fully yet. Awesome. Once the time registered in my brain, I jumped out of bed and jumped in the shower. I really dislike rushing. There’s a much better outcome to me when I don’t rush through getting ready.

The rain clouds lingered all day, and the chill in the air was welcomed with a sweatshirt and a craving for hot chocolate. After a long 10hr day, I satisfied that craving.

There wasn’t another mug in the entire house, so I had to use my M&M guy. S’okay. It was super yummy and yes, I do have a burnt tongue. :-P

Was at the gas station the other day and saw the Google Maps car. THAT was interesting.

I’ve seen it driving around town, and that big camera on top is fascinating to me. I wish I had the courage to stop and talk to that lady. I would love to climb up on that little ladder she had and see that camera up close. 360* of awesomeness.

I wonder if this itty bitty dog ever wishes to be bigger…

Went to the GI doctor the other day. I did not like what I had to hear, but I suppose I’m in no position to argue. However, fighting for the outcome I want is something I’m willing to do.

See you for my procedure, Doc.  :-/

Rainy Day Wednesday

Guess what, y’all? Whoever said it never rains in SoCal was wrong. It’s raining today! It’s never what I would consider “Seattle” rain, but it’s rain nonetheless. And I’m lovin’ it.

I wish I was out jumping in rain puddles. I wish I was kissing someone in the rain. I wish I could spin around and dance like nobody was watching, even if they were. I wish I could build a fire in my fireplace and sit in front of it with a bowl of chili. I wish I could cuddle under the warm blankets with a lover and fall asleep to the gentle sounds of the raindrops falling on my bbq grill.

Oh, I WISH

Welcome to SoCal, Cold Weather

Some people don’t like this 64* cloudy and drizzly weather, but I think it’s beautiful. It’s wonderful, and absolutely amazing. With the 105*+ we’ve had the last few weeks, this is a really nice change.

To me, it means layered clothes, cozy big sweatshirts or jackets that belong to JK, big warm blankets to cuddle up with, the sound of fire crackling in the fireplace, hot chocolate, Mom’s famous chili (even if she’s not around to make it for me), chicken soup, and cuddling up at night to stay warm.

Here in SoCal, we don’t get snow. There are a few places not too far that get some snow, but in 31+ years, I’ve only gone a handful of times. Last year, JK took me to one of those places (I’d never been), and I hope we can go back this year. We had the most amazing time.

Here’s to beautiful, chilly weather!