What if....

I was just thinking...what if I made lots of money, could afford to ask for whatever I want...what does a christmas look like for a celebrity...or millionare. So just because its Christmas and Disney always wants you to dream...I'm just going to tell you what I wish for this year for christmas. Some of it is a little spendy and others are just over priced materials.

First of all....I wish for a house



with a big kitchen....


Then I wish for a whole Lululemon waredrobe....



with the possibility of capturing life's precious moments....

While wearing my most comfortable boots....

I shall bake and mix my troubles away....

Happy December 16th. Just wanted to share you in on a few dreams of mine....

Sweater Party is tonight. I'm so excited...my sweater looks like Christmas threw up. It is super ugly.

Time is flying by so fast....Christmas just a few weeks away

Hi ya'll....

I thought it was about time to give December a shot! Christmas in Seattle is pretty magical. The streets are lined with lights, sweaters and scarfs are on every corner, the new scentsy scent, "Rustic Lodge" warms the living room, toasty fires sets the Carpenter's inspiration of holiday song, and Dirty Truck Driver grows the Christmas beard. It is quite a site, and so is the beard. I think there was more gray last year.

With all the Xmas cheer I find a uncontrollable gift giving monster that comes out. My focus becomes blurred by department stores flashing big red lights that say "70% Holiday Blow Out" and I can't help but think...hmmm does anyone I know need a new hoodie? pajamas? Cute slipper boots? And then an hour later I realize I have three bags full of joyous Christmas bundles. Nothing is saying gift giving like "Deck the halls with shirts, socks, hats, jackets, lotion, dvd's...la, la,la, la." I love it. I am just a few gifts away from being completely finished.

I'm not traveling to AZ this year. We are having family come see us.

I got tickets to the Nutcracker.

Pretty much going to rock this Christmas mamma jamma!

Have a wonderful pre-pre Christmas week. Hope you get all your shopping done.

Next post: 2nd Annual UGLY SWEATER PARTY in Seattle!

Little inspiration from PW....

Lets hear it for Thanksgiving 2010 baby!!!!
I can neither confirm nor deny that I had seconds on the sweet potatoes. The whole dinner was a big success. We had a great time and it felt like home. I’m so glad everyone was able to come over and spend the day with us. Love you guys.

I can neither confirm or deny that I did my own Turkey Trot this year with my good friend Sugar. We traveled down to the Burke Gilman, which was full of snow. Saw a guy cross country skiing. This made us both feel better about soon to be calorie consumption.

I can neither confirm nor deny that as much as he drives me crazy, I’m also crazy about him! Dirty Truck Driver you make me smile. Thanks for always being there.

I can neither confirm nor deny that my Christmas stuff is now ready to hop out of the boxes and strut its stuff for the next month. I got block letters from Costco that spell lots of different Holiday words. We got rid of all the DVD’s in the living room, creating shelve space for my nativity scene and blocks. I'm pretty excited....

Thankful for

Family

Friends

Faith

Health

Happiness

Opportunities

And...."Dance Magic Dance" by Bowie

Breakin' Bread

And again, Thankful for:
Family
Friends
Faith
Health
Happiness
And
Opportunities

Happy Thanksgiving. I thought I would get a fresh start on this. My day hasn’t really started yet, pretty much all that has happened is the coffee pot is a brewin’ and my slippers have made it to my feet. No bra yet….

Oven…please work with us and be a good little oven and do as your told….cook a great turkey, sweet potatoes and lots of side blessings.

We are having a few friends join us. I’m really excited to A. not travel and B. enjoy turkey and the works with the Seattle gang.

My menu:
Citrus Turkey- by Dirty Truck Driver
Sweet Potatoes-inspired by the Pioneer Woman
Roasted Vegetables- my neighbor suggested it…there are parsnips in it….yeah I know.
Cranberry Sauce, salad, rolls, pumpkin pie, wine, green bean casserole, red wine, and maybe cookies???? Oh did I mention wine?



God Bless this Day!

Gotta put the taters in....here we go! Wish me luck.

Adventures to Terre Haute with an Exciting Homecoming

Hi everyone!

Sunday night we packed up a small backpack with an extra pair of socks and headed to Terre Haute, IN the home of the country’s best distance running, the NCAA Championships. Our women were ranked in the top 20 going in to the race. I want to say it was 4th. The trip was supposed to be quick, a 36 hour tour that ended up being an adventure that had us delayed and freeway stopped.

The race unfortunately did not end up well for the Huskies. We finished 16th. My heart goes our for those girls who really rallied and worked hard to get sharp and ready for the NCAA battle. But in this sport, sometimes you just aren’t on. And we were not. As we left INDY with our heads hanging low, we got to the airport with an hour to spare. Someone had a great idea to get dinner before we departed. How were we supposed to know that our food was going to take 47 min, leaving us with 13 min to get through security and to our gate? That should have been plenty right? WRONG! It would have been if not for the lovely body scan I received from TSA. I was prepared for the whole search; at one point I thought the TSA chick was going to check my boobs for something malignant. After I got the “OK, you are good…no bomb or weapons on you, enjoy your flight, have a great day” nod to put my shoes and stuff back on, we jetted to the gate. I forgot to tell you, at the initial check in, we didn’t have assigned seats so we were going to have to get that at the gate. With two minutes to spare we had arrived to our gate that was boarding the last few Seattle bound travelers, and the only reason I know that it was two minutes is because the attendant at the counter got on her handy dandy mic and announced if “Audra Smith and…..(other passengers who were running on the late train with me) do not pick up their tickets in 2 min, they will be given away! WTF?!

“HEY HEY…I’m here with tiny little sweat beads on my forehead, Please don’t give our tickets away…Let us go home.” Oh crap, I have to pee and I have a middle seat!

As we were taxing out, the Pilot comes on the loud speaker saying that our flight into Denver should be smooth and skies are clear. Enjoy your flight. I sat next to a lady with three little boys under the age of three. I will admit they were very polite and well behaved. The little boy, Vincent who sat next to me had evidence of ketchup and chocolate on his face and smelled like poop. Every few minutes I would get a whiff of pooh.

Getting to Denver was a breeze. The landing was great and all the little boys were happy. Until we arrive to our connecting flight only to find out that it has been changed to an hour later. Raul, who I am going to rename Dirty Truck Driver, began to search his phone for weather updates in Sea Town. There were several reports about freeways being closed, cars being abandoned and even a plane sliding off the runway on account of the friggin’ ice. In a nutshell we were getting pretty nervous to fly back to Seattle and as our time of departure continued to get later and later into the night we weren’t sure we were going to see Seattle until the next day.

But as some would say “The show must go on” and we boarded the plane. I was smashed between two wonderful people who eased my nerves as we tackled the treacherous trip back to the PNW. Because of the late departure our tv was free so to keep me sane I watched a handful of Real Housewives and Millionaire Matchmaker. That lady is a Rock star. On our final decent down I was terrified! The plane was bobbing up and down on the count of the wind and I could see the houses and lights swaying back and fourth. Then all of a sudden my heart begins to pound super fast….is this what a heart attack feels like? Should I yell to the front of the plane to Dirty Truck Driver that I love you and its been real? Then we get closer to the ground….I squeeze my eyes shut and my fingernails grip the seat and the lady’s knee on my right bracing myself for the slippery landing, she taps my shoulder and points out the window, claps and says….”We make it!” Oh I could have kissed her! I was safe….

Then we jump in the truck test the roads and make our way back to the casa. Freeway was desolate, cars and trucks stranded. Buses abandoned. We thought we would be home in about 20 minutes….then the exit for I90 approached and so did big red brake lights. We sat in traffic and moved inches every 20 minutes. Our trip had been running for 4 hours already since we had touched down. Right around 2:30 our low fuel light comes on…Dirty Truck Driver says a few unrepeated words and then as always for me, pure panic sets in. I’m spiraling in my head how the hell we are going to make it home…should we walk? Pull to the side of the road and call someone? Sleep in the car? Oh god…we are going to die right here! Well my overreaction lead to some movement that resulted in us getting a shitty javelin throw further but got us to an exit that lead us to gas!!!! Yippie. Now we are not going to die. Then it got even better. We decided to ditch the freeway and take snowy icy side roads. An angel from the DOT appeared from heaven with a snow plow as a halo. We followed behind her all the way to Husky Stadium, HOME SWEET HOME!

What a trip! So glad to be back with Tweedle dee and Tweedle dumb.

Note to self…on my next trip, I’m going to go easy on the liquids. I swear I peed every 30 min.

Goodness Audra...more photos!

I took this picture over the summer. I named it the obvious, "Two Trees". Recently, we updated our house with some art, mostly just pictures that I took. Our house is full of personal art, we have pictures of the Snake River, sunrise at Mt. Whitney, paintings my grandma did, sheep farm in Rupert, and even some Shoshone falls pics. I would rather have something with some meaning than a random from IKEA or Bed Bath and Beyond (no offense).

Two Trees is one of my favorites. Hope you enjoy.

P.S. We have family in town this weekend and it might snow. Not ready for jingle bells and holly. Peace out!

Just messing around

I took this picture over the summer while we were in Rupert...any guesses what it is? I was mesmerized by these. Its an onion!


Trying to be creative with some photo editing

one of our first pictures together. I just love it!

The Come Back Kid

Let’s see, last time I blogged was in August. Now it is the middle of November. We are knee deep in our fall track season, and the last thing you remember about me posting was the Rock Star effort that Wilson gave climbing up his first mountain. And I also recall vowing to post more often and more frequently. Note to self: Don’t promise things you can give…makes you a liar.

My apologies to my readers. Which is probably two of you…Thanks DAD!

I digress…last year at this time, I was training for a marathon. Logging miles and planning my trip back to Arizona for Thanksgiving. This year I’m taking a different approach, I’m making a comeback. A comeback you say? For what? The Heptathlon of course! My job allows me to have the freedom and resources to pursue a dream of going to USA Nationals in both the indoor and outdoor championships. I have a great training partner, a really fast hurdler-former UW athlete-gone post collegiate pro with me, we help each other fight the battle of lifting, soreness, intervals, hurdles, abs, etc.

The Plan:
INDOOR Season
Enter in a few indoor meets in Seattle in hopes of scoring enough points in the Pentathlon to qualify for USA Combined Event Championships hosted in Indianapolis (March).

OUTDOOR Season
Basically the same thing, but trying to stay healthy, It seems like it takes this motor a lot longer to get rollin. I’m the car that you have you warm up the morning just to make sure she will make it down the hill. Outdoor USA’s are in Eugene this year. Hayward Field…if you haven’t been to a track meet there, I would strongly advise doing so. It is an amazing venue and the crowd it draws for track meets is like nothing I have ever experienced before. All of that will and should take place in June. I will do the heptathlon there…plan on going to some California meets to qualify for that. Makes my spring pretty fun.

SO… with that being said, I’m really excited about the next 8 months. I feel like this is my shot. I don’t like living the “What if” life, and I know that I have had the “what if” about the heptathlon.

My days are usually filled up with training athletes, training myself, and being dedicated to the special things our track and field team will be able to do this season. I love my job and the opportunities I have being a part of this program.

Other News:
I could talk track and about my job all day but why don’t I dab into some more personal stuff. As I mentioned the state that I was in last year, marathon training and then going home for Thanksgiving, well this year we are staying home for the holidays. About five years ago, I made a decision to stay at school and not fly home to AZ for Thanksgiving. We made a turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes…all the pilgrim favorites. And after saying some sort of grace, I started crying. It was the first time away from home on a “Big” holiday and I promised myself that I would never, NOT be home for Thanksgiving again. Well I was just a baby then and now I’ve realized that I’m an adult now and I have to start my own traditions plus flights for four days to Arizona from Seattle…OUTRAGEOUS! Therefore, I’m cooking for some Canadians and a few other fellow friends who agree with my system to staying home due to price of flights.

Next Wednesday Raul’s mom and dad and family friends are coming to visit. It is so funny when you have people come stay with you. There are so many little things that need to be done. Wash couch covers, clean walls, dust the corner of the closet where no one sees or ever visits besides the dust bunnies. Clean sheets…hell buy new sheets, new towels, organize the towel closet, organize kitchen pantry, organize this, and organize that. Throw away, give away…exhausting but it seems like we do it every time we have visitors. First of all, how do we accrue so much crap and second of all….who is feeding that dust bunny?

Don’t let this give you the wrong idea. I’m really looking forward to the visit from the Rupert Clan. I am just not looking forward to my date with the house.

One last thing:
I have been doing a lot of blog reading, but not blog writing (which I have missed) and I have discovered two blogs that I just love. One is called the inspired room and the other is the Pioneer Woman. Thanks Margo and Jennifer. The lady from the inspired room lives in Seattle and the PW is really fun to read. Anyway, those have become my inspiration to stick with the bloggy blog blog.

Hope ya’ll are enjoying your fall. Thanks for reading!

Mt. Pilchuck

I've been wanting to go on a Family Hike/Camping trip after we climbed Mt. Whitney but since then we've had moves, track meets, holidays and more. It has been over two years since we were in Cali climbing that mountain with our good friends. So I was delighted to be able to finally take an adventure with Raul, Sug and Wilson. It only took us three and a half hours round trip but it was perfect. Wilson was solid the whole way...even better than me.

After our glorious summit, we camped in a local campground about 8 miles from the trail head. We slept four to a two person tent and even though we didn't freeze I think I only slept about three hours. It was a little cramped. Anyway, glad we went, had fun and I really want to do a back packing trip up by Wonderland Trail.

Cheers to Goals for September 1st 2010

Hey Ya'll....Alright, I had a talk with my lovely boyfriend about having a five year plan, this does not mean a five year plan of frying wings at the local Hooters. I liked the idea and I feel it is going to be a project of mine.

With the five year plan, I get nervous because I feel like the possibilities are endless and it is only up to me on what I want to do and who I want to join me on the journey. Even though I'm not quite ready to start my five year plan workbook, I thought a new fall resolution was a good start. Technically it gives you enough time to plan some great goals and then it is immediate enough to satisfy the Freudian "Id" in us.

With that mouth full of gibberish being said, I advise ya'll to set some goals for yourself. They could be anything from weight loss to finances. Make your deadline right before the holidays(or Jan 1). Here is the cool thing...then you can do another set of resolution goals in January. It is a pretty sweet deal if I don't say so myself.

I think too many times we talk about what we will do tomorrow...and as the great Garth Brooks says, "Tomorrow Never Comes." So make it a September goal. I plan to get somethings in order. I want to make some extra money on the side, which might entail my own business. I want to establish a better group of girl friends up in Seattle.

So...write it out, put it up somewhere where you will see it everyday. Good luck and hope you are enjoying your summer.

Next up(Steeling from Katie): Mt. Pilchuck Hike-First family Summit!...hopefully with pictures.

I just can't stop and a little bit of ass fat

Since we have been in Idaho, we have had Mexican food almost every single day. Don't get me wrong, I love it and I just can't stop! We (me and my accomplice, Raul) went on a Mexican food spree of eating it for lunch, dinner, and snack time. As much as I love the Latin love of frejoles and queso, I don't love the ass fat that it comes with.

"What do you mean by Ass fat, Audra?"

Ass Fat (noun): It is the soft little bit of fluff that rides along the cheek that connects to the top of the leg. It doesn't see much sunlight but for some reason the Mexican food heads straight there before anywhere else.

This is how I think the conversation goes every time we have an encounter.

Mexican Food,"Hola Audra, we would love to live in your body, we know you would welcome us, because we taste so good, salsa-guacamole and all."(In the sexy Antonio Banderas voice)

Audra:"Of course, MF, I welcome you with open arms plus you could just live in my body and live vicariously through my ass fat."

MF: "What a great idea and opportunity for us to be together forever."

Audra: "Absolutely, just as long as you keep tasting so good."

Can't you see my dilemma of not being able to stop the MF from turning into ass fat! Yeah, and lunges and squats are not getting rid of it either, bc MF just keeps coming back around trying to get back to its favorite form in my body, ass fat.

I just can't stop the ass fat!

Magic 7's for all man kind

If you check out my comments from my last post, the Asian porn stars made another appearance. I'm actually now more accepting of the Asian porn comments. Either one, they don't care and have no idea what I'm posting which in return means that they continue to market their outrageous porn product, or two (which makes me laugh)have answered with a "Thanks Audra for the post, however we feel that your blog is spectacular and really enjoy reading it. You are our favorite American blog girl. Since we love your blog so much we wanted to make it apart of our website and hope that you enjoy our comments about Asian porn."

So anyway, I do not want to go to a private blog so I hope that it doesn't offend anyone. And if it does, just think of them as really nice people who love to read my blog.

On to another...wonderful subject.

I feel like my "cheap ass" shopping skill are very tactical, frugal yet purposeful. My bargain shopping has opened up an addiction that I have no control over. As we all know there is lots of money in Seattle. It is a very trendy city and Nordstrom couture crowds the streets with handbags, jeans, jewelry and lifestyle. And once these pieces of clothing or accessories are no longer needed for that individual they are tossed out and donated to a magical place. "Audra, that is called Goodwill or Salvation Army, I donate all the time, just yesterday I cleaned out my closet and sent some old sweatshirts and valentine's day socks to St. Vincent De'Paul."

Ladies and maybe the one gentleman that reads this blog, I am talking about a place where in each rack, hangs designer everything. Banana Republic, J Crew, Patagonia, The North Face. But the most exciting thing that awaits in this what the locals call "GoodWill on the Ave" are designer jeans. Everything from Joe's, Paper Denim, Citizens of Humanity, to the Magic 7's for all man kind. These jeans wrap around your body like a glove. They hold everything in place, like the ass fat, and make your butt look "Fergalicous". Here is the very best part about my affair with this place. My wallet is not ever compromised. Last week, where I found my new favorite pair (by the way, no holes, no tears, zipper and belt loops attached) of 7's with some fancy dancy rhinestones, I only paid $24. And it gets even better. Every time I go....and I mean every time, I find unlimited amounts of my magical jeans that are practically new. Well at least new to me.

I told Raul yesterday that I am so satisfied with being a clothing hunter at thrift stores and Goodwill's. I do such a great job with finding fantastic stuff. And to top it all off...I look at it as my contribution to being Green!

Hope you all have a fantastic day.

Audra....out.

Question for the Blog World

Yo!
If you go down to my comments and take a gander, you will find some interesting information. There have been several posts from anonymous authors in Chinese/Japanese, some kind of Asian communication.

Well, I thought it would be interesting to find out what was being commented on my blog. Maybe some nice lady in Korea, reads my blog and wanted to say, "Oh thanks Audra, your blog posts always make my day, and I just enjoy reading about your interesting stories." I couldn't have been more wrong. I copied and pasted the hopeful sweet comments from my unidentified Korean lady, to google translations. Hmmm....what a surprise my sweet little lady turned into a conglomeration of Asian porn discussion.

WTF! I'm really not interested in Asian porn to be honest and I'm really not interested in it being on my comments. So my question to you all in the blog world: How the Hell do you turn the sweet Korean/dominatrix comments off?

Fillet o' Fish

I just attempted the unthinkable..well actually not really, I just didn't think it was something that I would ever do. I filleted a fish.

Seriously...it was kind of hard. This sucka had all of his bones intact. I did the stupid thing by naming him, Jose. Spanish names always come to mind when I am naming things. I guess I just like the way it rolls off the tongue...Jose!

Thank goodness he was organless, that would have been an adventure in itself. As I attempted to cut him in half, I hit bone...back bone to be exact.

As usual...I panic.

The Internet is so fantastic when it comes to crises. I had a little help from Salmon University...."Your complete Saltwater Fishing Resource." It was step by step instructions on how to take Jose Fish to Jose Fillet. Fish are very interesting. The outside layer (scales/skin) is very tough but when you cut inside the meat part is very delicate and can be easily mangled.

So...back to cutting Jose. I proceed to slice him in two. Then I take one side of him, turn him over and cut right along the back bone. It was pretty spectacular. Once I turned him over, I had separated backbone and ribs and had a nice slice of salmon heaven.

Now the other side...got a little carried away. I tried to de-rib him and found myself getting a little "cut happy." I ended up salvaging what I could and ended up with a beautiful fillet and a half.

I'm actually really happy that I attempted that. It gave me new appreciation for the profession of meat cutters. Here's to you, butcher/fish monger: Thank you for taking the bones out of these tasteful creature to make our lives less stressful.

Happy Birthday Grandma Esther. I miss you everyday.

Audra...out!

Blog Lost

I've never been sure how I've wanted this blog to go. At first it was just a great way to tell the cyber world how I was doing. Which hasn't been too exciting. Then it became a place where I let out frustrations and filled the page with messages from the heart. Then I had ideas of attaching a health and fitness blog on top of that. I have failed miserably.

My blog is lame! My summer project will be posting at least three times a week on RANDOMNESS. This gives me lots of range to post whatever. It may be about relationships, work, aging, just randomness. Get the defibrillator and stand back, I'm hoping that this will shock me back into the blog world and get me back to writing, which I do love.

I want to talk about my most recent obsession with Brandi Carlile. A native folk/new age singer from Seattle who stole my heart the moment her video was released on Grey's Anatomy. I fell hard for "The Story" and was immediately a fan, this past Christmas I was gifted with her entire album collection. Every song takes me somewhere different. If you have a chance you tube The Story.

Hello world, its me...Audra!

I remember getting really upset when I would check blogs and the post date was like six months old. So for all ya'll who have opened my blog page and felt completely frustrated with my lack of blogestry, I apologize.



So...how about an update?

I'm coaching Track at UW. We have been busy every weekend with meets. Spring is the season for track and my life has taken off. I was hired at UW in January and since then I have been swamped with travel, coaching, training, and meetings. I am so happy with the way things have turned out. A year ago I was bitching about going back to school and working 3 jobs and now I'm doing something that I really love.



I had an unfortunate run of luck about 6 weeks ago. I was doing a hurdle workout and realized that my foot hurt...so instead of stopping and resting on it, I just kept hurdling until I couldn't walk on it and if you touched it I would have decked ya.



I went and had it looked at....and after one xray, mri, and consultation, I was put in a walking boot. I was told I had a fracture on my navicular bone. Google it! Pretty much the worst bone to have a fracture on besides the talus bone. Fan-Freakin' Tastic right? I was pretty crushed but I kept a positive attitude. Then two weeks after the MRI, I was told, "no fracture just a case of bone marrow adema, still got to stay in das boot." I'm finally out of it but it was just some freaky thing. Having pain in a small part of your foot that hinders so many things that I do in my everyday life was kind of crapy. But I made it and even though it takes me out of contention to do anything fantastic this year, I'm just glad it is not broken and I am out of DAS BOOT!



So....I missed you blog world.

Check ya later!

Family Pictures...its about time!

Hey Ya'll
Yep...that is a burro. Her name is Jenny. Isn't she so cute?
Anyway, I wanted to get these pics up. When I went home for Thanksgiving Becky McArther came to the house and took some great pictures of my family. With a few "point and shoots" she had captured some pretty great moments. Thanks Beck. If I end up getting married one day...you know you're my number one.

ENJOY!! PEACE out!

Almost Happily Ever After

This morning was interesting.
As I was coffee deprived, I sat and tried to zone out the "Curves" conversation of cohabiting before you are married. Again, I was trying to zone out but when you get words like, not married...four years......and something about free milk, my eyes and ears started to follow the direction of conversation.

As they looked down on this couple who was cohabiting, and not wanting to marry I couldn't help but make it about me. I wanted to yell...Um...hi, I'm that person! I felt like they were telling my story. Yeah so I'm a little hungry for marriage. I'm a little hungry for lots of things and that topic is one of them. But it doesn't make it wrong or anything that should be frowned upon.

Oh but they continued....... about how it is just a "different era, and why would someone stay with a person, live with them, share their life if they have clearly stated they will never marry that person. In my day, you courted, married and then lived together." Yeah, well.....

My era things have changed!

We live in a world where women are successful, work their ass off, support their family and make time to cook, clean, taxi and socialize which gives new name to "House Wife."

We live in a world where two people (even of the same sex), live in a partnership, share life together and expenses. Even have children.

We live in a world where people spend the rest of their lives utterly alone due to early life decisions.

We live in a world where men and women stay in marriages for the children. When a part of them has been chipped away and when they look in the mirror, they don't recognize the reflection.

We live in a world where MARRIAGE is viewed as good and bad.
If you asked me: I would have to say...I'm 100% scared and 100% believer in marriage. How do you like them apples...eh!

So what if this couple that these ladies were talking about was still uncertain about their future? Wouldn't we say they were doing the responsible thing by "testing" the waters before they take the plunge? What if the guy in this relationship is apprehensive of marriage because he was hurt or had a bad experience? What if the girl doesn't feel he is the right one, but they still care about each other so they stay in the relationship, because it really is pretty good, they have a lot of fun together and it just works for the time being, even though there is no plan to marry.

I don't believe in Happily ever after...I do believe in Almost happily ever after which is pretty damn good. As humans we make mistakes, say things out of emotion, chemicals and hormones infest our bodies that cause us to do things, make decisions, and react in unexplainable ways. Almost happily ever after leaves room for those variables. Things are not perfect! Life is not fair! And it is all what you make of it. If for some reason you feel that the predicament you have gotten your self into is not working....then re-evaluate (favorite thing to do) and decide. Decide if what you are doing in your life, whether it is a relationship, job, responsibility or friendship, is the right thing and if it is making you happy. Because Happily Ever After is never going to happen. You decide your own fate and destiny in this world. You have that control. You can not wait for someone else to do it for you.

So...back to that "living in Sin, never marring", cohabited couple of urban Seattle, you don't know what the situation is. And before making judgement, maybe re-evaluate! There are two sides to every story and perhaps they are happy in their Almost Happily Ever After life.

My message for the day...

"Suffering produces enduracne, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts throuh the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5.