[Jeep] Wheels Keep on Turnin'

You know it... A song-title post. Here is the song I intend to have come to your mind. However, my mom pointed out that this song could come to mind as well. The latter wouldn't fit as well as the first. So, just stick with the first :).

I spent a week in Alabama. Yay :). Then I spent a week driving from Alabama to Washington. And memories were made. Oh yes. Memories were made. First off -- thanks to everyone who hung out with me. Especially those of you who travelled to do so :). JULIE. Loveya lots girl :).

Okay, so as I mentioned in my previous post, the morning of the 15th arrived with snow. Enough snow to stick on the ground. Enough snow to pile up about 3 to 3.5 inches. Enough snow for Donna to call me from Atlanta to tell me that I should check my flight status, since her plane leaving was delayed 2 hours. Enough to get my figurative panties in a wad and stress me out. I needed this trip like nobody's business. I just needed a break from the everyday. (And thank goodness I have a job where I can go in and tell my boss I bought a ticket to go to Alabama for 2 weeks -- and he says, "Okay."). Because I bought this ticket about 3 to 3.5 weeks before I actually went. So, I'd been scheming and keeping it quiet for some time :). I had hoped to surprise a bunch of people -- including Julie. But that didn't quite work out. It's okay, though. It was still really an awesome trip. But anyway, I digress (are you really surprised?). So anyway, my flight was to leave Seattle at 11:20 p.m. or something like that. It was the best I could do to get the maximum amount of time in and get the good price -- and it not already be sold out. That's the problem with trying to go anywhere at Spring Break. Things sell out fast. Anyway, so I opted to not even put in my contacts on Sunday. I didn't think my eyes would be particularly appreciative of 48 hours of contacts. Though my mom was originally going to take me to the airport, the snow kind of changed those plans, and she ended up paying for me to take the airporter. The snow stopped and melted by around noon or 1, but the wind was howling. The good news is that the airporter was pretty empty, and so was the airport. I had no problems getting through security, though I will admit I was very concerned they might confiscate my Forks dirt. I'm serious. They didn't even bat an eyelash :). My first flight from Seattle to Chicago was packed. Seriously packed. Ick. And, since it was all that was left when I bought my tickets, I was in a middle seat. But, it wasn't too terribly bad. I tried to sleep a lot. You know what's embarassing? Sleeping on a plane with your head back -- or at least for me. Because my mouth falls open and I know I look ridiculous. Oh well. As long as I don't drool ;)... Turned out the girl sitting on my right was also an Alabama graduate, so that was an interesting coincidence. Then I flew from Chicago to Birmingham, on a much emptier plane -- in fact, I had a whole row to myself :), where April and Courtney picked me up :)! Yay!!! April took the day off, and Courtney was on Spring Break. So our first stop was a place called Courtney's, where we at breakfast. And took a picture, of course :). And forgive my hidesousness. I look so bulky in this picture. But whatever :).


After this, we went to April's and I unloaded all my stuff. I actually packed smart -- everything in 2 carry-ons. (You'll find that I made up for it with my Alabama shopping spree :)). And then we ran to the Dollar General (which doesn't exist up here), so I could get contact solution and toothpaste. Darn airlines... We also had to get a couple more odds and ends for our exciting party menu ;). We went back to the house and watched episodes of The Office (thanks to Brad and Tarylyn for letting me take them to AL!!!). I was exhausted. I couldn't keep my eyes open. And I dazed quite a bit. How pathetic. Hahahaha... But seriously, I couldn't help it. After my little catnap, we worked on some of our menu items :). I also got my shower and did my best to get into my "Pam" persona. You know -- button-up blouse, plain skirt. Very plain ;). And April worked on her "Angela" persona, and Courtney on her "Kelley" persona. Because our theme was The Office. And it was so awesome!


So thanks to all of you who helped me come up with hilarious (very hilarious) menu ideas!!! To include bacon (from when Michael stepped on the grill and grilled his foot) and jell-o with a pen inside (and it was so perfect, the pen April had said, "Dwight"). Oh, and Greg, April's fiancee (congrats April!!!), came and did his best "Prison Mike." So we ate our fabulous meal. And, I'll give you the run down of our menu. You should take a look at all the pictures if you want a good laugh, because we had little flyers to go with every item that included the quote from the episode we got the food from, as well as a picture to go with it :). We had a great time. But here's the menu, followed by the complete tablescape:

• Peanut Butter and Jelly (Pam Beasley & Jim)
• Grilled Cheese sandwiches
• Bacon
• Strawberry yogurt
• Dwight's Faux Beets (cranberry sauce, because who eats beets?!? ;))
• Salt & Vinegar chips (not Herr's, as they aren't sold here or in the SE)
• Surprise Inside Jell-o
• M&Ms
• Kit Kats
• Angela's Kitty Litter Cake
• Grape Soda

We watched more episodes of The Office, and ate our meal. And I fell asleep again. Good grief. But then we played The Office trivia game, which April's future mother-in-law gave her for Christmas. It was fun, even though I lost :(. Greg won, which is why he was getting awarded his "Office Olympics" prize of a yogurt cap necklace :).

And though we were totally exhausted, we continued on with karaoke -- in honor of Andy (from The Office). And it was fun. And addictive. Courtney took a few pictures of me singing (and I scored pretty darn well, if I do say so myself! I guess all the file-room singing has paid off!), and I really have a big mouth!

And of course, April and I sat and gabbed until like midnight. Never mind that she had to work the next day, and I had to get up to be ready for when Virginia got there... But it was so fun. And it was great to meet Greg. He's fun, and I'm so excited and happy for April :). And yes, this means I'll be back in October, even if only for a day or 2, when they get married (now that they have officially set the date) :). And P.S. I'm super-white.

Virginia drove to Birmingham to pick me up from April's, and we stopped by a Chik-Fil-A for breakfast, because they don't have one here in WA. Well, technically they do -- at the University in Seattle. But it's not exactly convenient. So, I enjoyed me some chicken minis. And we got our first cow picture of the trip - to go along with our cow theme :).


Then we made it to Tuscaloosa, where we hit Dirt Cheap and I spent like $32 on clothes. But I got some awesome deals, so I didn't feel too guilty. Brand new jeans, capris, and shorts (all Levi), and a brand new eyelet skirt (black and white) for $8 each. Believe me, I'll get my money's worth out of them. Plus, I needed clothes for while I was on vacation :). Had to pack light for the plane trip, remember? Then it was time to meet up with Annie at Mugshots! I had wanted to try Mugshots before I left Tuscaloosa, but they had a bad food rating then, so we didn't go. So, we went this time :). And I tried the fried dill pickle chips. In the South, you can fry anything -- including twinkies, which I have sadly never had the opportunity to try :). But anyway, these were awesome:

And of course it was awesome to see Annie and laugh with her and Virginia. I miss these days :). And, it's always good to catch up on the gossip in cataloging. Always very interesting, even if it does make me feel sad for those who are still under the tyranny of the new department head. Blech. Anyway, thanks Annie! For coming and eating :)!

After lunch (and I was stuffed, even though I only had a bowl of soup with my dill pickle chips), we dropped my stuff off at Virginia's, and then ended up hitting America's Thrift Store, where I bought even more stuff! But I got some awesome deals. I told you I went on a mini spending spree :). Here I am wearing all new clothes (I took this picture for the new clothes, not to be vain ;)):

That night, after settling down, Virginia and I enjoyed Publix brand Mint Chocolate Cookie frozen yogurt. They also don't have a Publix up here. And let me tell you... that is some of the most delish stuff I've ever tasted. And better for you than ice cream (which means you can eat more ;)). So, we hunkered down with our troughs of frozen yogurt and our cows and watched The Private Eyes, which is an oldie, but a goodie :).

For roadtrip purposes (when it was time to head to Dothan), cow held the speaker, so we could hear my mp3 music :).

Virginia and I just gabbed the whole way. It was an enjoyable ride. And since Virginia hadn't ever been to see the peanuts, we stopped by the Visitors' Center to take some pictures:

And of course, we hit Chik-Fil-A again :).

Thanks so much, Virginia, for taking me to Dothan on the way to your mom's, even though it wasn't really "on the way"!!! I really enjoyed it!!!

And of course, there was hanging with the Juliebean. How I wish it had been longer :(. But, I think we enjoyed the time we had, and I'm soooo glad that she came up from FL to hang out with me!!! So, we packed our time with memories. Yummy food (including the chocolate chip cheesecake bars. YUM) and Apples to Apples.


Some famous moments:

• "That guy's a dork!" "Hila, he's blind." "Oh."
• "Picking your nose" is exquisite -- so is "spit"

And of course, there was hanging with the Shay Shay. What a pretty baby! And So happy!!! She warmed up to me pretty fast, so that was cool :). She laughs and giggles, and is such a laid-back baby!



And Alysha is, of course, growing like crazy. She is quite beautiful. So here we are, 4 beautiful girls:

And another of pretty Julie and pretty me :):

The best thing I like about hanging out with Julie... Well, one of them at least... is that it doesn't matter how long it's been since we've talked or seen each other. It's like no time has passed. We always have the best time together, no matter what we are doing. And we always manage to make fabulous memories that last forever :). So while this Juliebean visit was bittersweet in that it was so short, it was an unexpected one -- much sooner than either of us thought would happen -- and we made the most of it :). So, Julie and I went to eat at Atlanta Bread Company before she headed back for Florida.


Loveya girl! And can't wait for the next time!!! (Which is so going to be sooner than later :)).

Oh, really quick... This is the main reason this whole trip happened:

My sister bought this from my dad, so he wanted me to help him drive it out to WA. I know I probably swore I wouldn't do that trip again. But it's funny what you end up doing :). So, that's the main reason I went to Alabama so soon after leaving -- much sooner than I had ever anticipated. Oh, and that's why I changed the lyrics for my song-title post to be "Jeep" wheels :).

After saying goodbye to Julie, I had a few errands to run. One of them was to swing out to Troy Dothan and say hi to Donna. It didn't matter that we'd seen each other just a few days before :). We had a nice visit, and as a perk, I found out they closed up the fountain and put in Hector... So you know I had to take pictures :).


By the way, do you notice how beautiful the weather was in Alabama? If the weather would stay that way all year round, it would be PERFECT. But anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the perfect Spring weather while I was there :). Flip flops for me the entire time!

Then it was off to HLML to visit everyone there. Kristin was working, and so we ended up getting to go to lunch together. Thanks Kristin!!! We went to Things N Wings, which has corn nuggets (fried corn fritters, essentially). These are fabulous!

Also, shocker of all shockers... They got new carpet in the Children's Room! Seriously! I thought I'd never see the day... Turns out someone donated the labor and the carpet. And so, it smelled like new carpet, since it had just gotten put in the weekend before. And so Kristin and I had to look shocked (because I know I was :)!


I got to see a lot of other people, including Julia-Ann, Nancy, Charlotte, Becky, Anita, Hilda, and my first boss from Troy: Julia. What a wonderful, though brief, visit :). Because before long, my dad was there to pick me up so I could help him with some stuff before we had to drive to Montgomery to get my mom. Meanwhile, Kristin found a couple of books for me to have. Totally 80s books :). The Wuzzles. Thanks Kristin! You rock! and so we made a swap... I took her up some oreo truffles (I'll tell you about these later) and she gave me books :).

So that night, my dad and I drove up to Montgomery to get my mom. It was the Jeep's first long-distance trip. And it handled awesomely. I'm slightly jealous of my sister's awesome new car. It's a sweet ride. My mom got in fine, and we got home sometime around midnight. And I was tired. For the record :). I got very little sleep on this vacation. But for me, that's what vacation is... I make memories. No time for sleep :).

On Saturday, I got up early. Like at 7 in the morning. Because Tammy was coming to pick me up so we could hang out while she went to Target to get copies of Twilight for Stacy, herself, and someone else. We got to Target at opening time, and it turns out there wasn't a rush on the movie, as was anticipated. And so, though I said I wouldn't, I so continued my spending spree and bought the movie. Hahahaha.... Then we went by Chik-Fil-A and got breakfast and took it to Stacy's where we attempted to surprise her with my presence. Didn't work so well, though it was probably comical to see me hunched down behind the tire on the other side of Tammy's vehicle when Stacy insisted on coming out to the car to get something out of one of her boxes that were in Tammy's backseat... Stacy was suspicious that I might be showing up, partly because of a dream she'd had and partly from Tammy's "suspicious" actions (according to Stacy). Either way, it was neat to try to surprise her and show up for the Twilight party :). Of course, the party wasn't until much later, so meanwhile, Tammy took me home, where I went with my mom to run errands (like buying sustenance for the upcoming cross-country trip). And we swung back by the library for my mom to see people, and I was able to visit with Glenda and Julia-Ann a bit more. Then it was time to pick my dad up from work for his lunch break. We told him we wouldn't need the car, so he took it back to work while my mom and I made oreo truffles for me to take to the Twilight party that night. And okay, so I learned a very valuable lesson -- about why my truffles in August turned out to look like sherbet-covered blobs. Water-based food coloring is not a good idea. It changes the consistency. And I was horrified. And quite upset. So, Mom to the rescue. While I worked on the chocolate ones, she walked to the grocery store close by and got crisco and almond bark. One of these would work :). We tried the Crisco first, because that can thin it out. And we salvaged the white chocolate. Pretty gross, huh? Trust me, you don't want to know how much Crisco we put in those oreo truffles. As though they weren't unhealthy enough without it :). YIKES. Then it was time for me to shower and get ready for the party. Tammy came and picked me up, and I met Ginger, who was also going to the party. Of course, this was a pajama party, so I was wearing lovely pajama pants (that can't be mistaken for everday garb), as were Tammy and Ginger. And wouldn't you know it... We had to stop at WinnDixie to get a few last-minute things... And so we all went in. We figured there's power in numbers... And hoped that people would figure there was a party going on or something if 3 of us were wearing jammies :). Not saying we didn't get some looks, of course.... And of course, with us looking like this, you know the register we go to has to decide not to read Tammy's check (though it worked the night before...), so we stand there for about 10 minutes while a manager has to come, etcetera, etcetera. Oh, the hilarity. We made it to Stacy's, where we helped her with the finishing touches, though honestly, she'd done a fabulous job all on her own. And little by little, everyone arrived. Here's the tablescape:

Of course, there are pictures of the individual food... But you can choose if you care enough about them to look :). Let's just say it was all delicious and fabulous. And we laughed... a lot. We played a trivia game that Christina and I had created. Turns out the questions were easy for everyone. I so would have failed if I'd have been playing. But it was fun :). And we laughed soooo much. Kira took about 10 minutes of film (yes, Kristy, that's why she wasn't "taking" the picture and was just "standing there." :)), which I would love to get my hands on... I am sure it is absolutely hilarious.

Here are the things I brought for everyone from Forks:


It was neat to see everyone's reactions to the Forks dirt. So fun to do that for my friends :). Worth every embarassing second at the Forks sign :). And those fangs... Those were a hit! And full of spit, in the end. Here's Kira working on getting her fangs to glow -- the hard way:

And here's after they figured out the easy way :)


And here we are... Just a bunch of fun-loving girls. (Back: Ginger, Tammy, Lyndsey, Crystal. Front: Kira, me, Kristy, Stacy)

By the by... Those fangs were way hard to keep in my mouth. And it was really gross how much spit got on them. YUCK. And it was also gross how plastic-y they tasted. But oh how we laughed :). Oh, and I'm wearing my "Real Vampires Sparkle in Forks, WA" shirt, with sparkles on it :). And they totally match my multi-colored pj pants...

Here we are looking "normal" :).


And finally, a goofy one, without the fangs -- the plastic ones, at least:

Around 11:00, we finally settled down enough and decided it was a good time to start the movie. So, here we are, getting comfy:

And so we laughed some more... What a wonderful evening. We left around 2 in the morning, and Tammy took me home. And again, I took a picture of myself. Sometimes I think I seem vain when I do this. But mostly, I was seeing how well my camera could capture how tired I was - and looked!

So, some highlights...

• non-toxic sparkling grape juice (or do you mean non-alcoholic, Kristy?)
• "please stop talking about your life; it's making me sad!"
• "stacy, I flushed, but it didn't go down"
• "I peed a little" "you better be joking! I just washed these carpets!"
• "bless the food to be yummy and fill our tummies."
• snort!

What a wonderfully fun night. I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it :). Thanks so much Stacy! And to the rest of you lovely ladies, thanks for the memories!!!

Sunday morning came far earlier than it should have :). Considering I had a really late (or early) night... So my mom and I went to church after taking my dad to work. It was great to see everyone and to chat a bit with Karen. I was sad we didn't have more time together :(. After church, I ran some oreo truffles up to the library for Kristin, and then I went and picked up some cross-stitch stuff from Donna. Who also packed a Road Trip Survival kit for us. Have I mentioned that I have wonderful friends??? Check this out:


Donna has always been so incredibly thoughtful. Thanks so much, Donna! Everything was wonderful, and well-enjoyed. But mostly thank you for your friendship :). It means the world to me :).

After leaving Troy, I picked my dad up from lunch. Then I took him back to work, and ended up heading over to Kira's old house to pick up the girls' clothes she had for Christina. Of course, there was far more than I had even imagined! So, my dad is actually UPSing it up. But it was so nice to visit with Kira for a couple of hours -- that went by far faster than 2 hours really should. But soon it was time to go back and get my dad from work, so I had to say goodbye to Kira. But I so enjoyed visiting with her.

That night, I packed and got everything ready to go. Of course, we got a late start the next day. We were all dead-tired. And we slept until 7. Even then, I still looked like I'd been punched in both eyes. Man I was exhausted. I still put in my contacts though. So, we finally got on the road (after stops at the post office and Wal-Mart) at about 10. Which kind of killed our time. But I guess you have to go with the flow (which I'm so not good at doing ;)). It was beautiful weather. We stopped in North Alabama for lunch, and it was quite pretty. So, I took a picture under these trees:

And we ate lunch:

That night we made it to Marion, IL. I drove the night hours, but we all shared the driving. Let me just say that Nashville at rush hour wasn't so fun. I was very tense. Hahaha... By day 2, we made stopped in Quincy to see my grandmother, whom I haven't seen since 2004. I talked to her and tried to keep conversation going, but it was quite obvious she didn't know who I am -- or who my mom is either. I think she recognized my dad, but didn't really understand that he is her son. It really is sad to see that. But regardless, I did my best to talk to her about random things. Like food :). That's always a good subject. And we mainly just spoke in Spanish.

Though it would have made great sense to take the same route we took in August, and therefore we might have made it in 4 days (especially with the travelling Nazi -- aka ME), the fact was that we'd checked the weather. And things weren't looking so hot on the Northern routes. So, we shot back down to I-40, and picked that up in Oklahoma City. So by Tuesday night, we were in Big Cabin, OK. And then we met up with Elka in Elk City, OK and enjoyed her company for lunch, which was neat. Also got to meet her youngest, and he is adorable. Absolutely adorable.

On Wednesday - Day 3 - we made it past Albuquerque, NM. And that is one massive city. And I was driving. And it was night. And I was so tense. It was chilly there, and I was very hot by the time I made it to the other side of the city. Hahahaha... But, we made it. Here I am at one of our rest stops in NM:


We stopped at about 9:00, and I can't even remember where we were. But there aren't a lot of exits with hotels in NM. At least not where we were. Grants. That's where we stopped. Man, that was bugging me, so I had to look it up. Day 4 started out with a bang. If you will. My dad and I bickered for the first half of the day while my mom drove. Quietly. Because that's what she does. Hahaha... By day 4, I was pretty much done. But then, after lunch, we all were laughing again. And so, we made it to somewhere around Los Banos, CA by about 8:30 that night. And I learned that Happy Cows do not come from California... But Smelly Cows do. I do believe those 10 miles of stench before the huge cow farm could easily compete with ew-stank. It was that bad. Ugh. We only had a short trip on Friday (well, compared with the 13 and 14-hour days we were pulling up to that point), because we stopped at my Aunt Sue's house in OR. Here we are at a rest stop near Mt. Shasta in California, where I fed the bluebirds bread:


It was neat to see their lovely cabin on the river and to visit her and Uncle Ernie. And to sleep in not-a-hotel :). I slept like a rock. And it felt good :). Of course, it was back to getting on the road the next day, but not before we took a group shot :):


I drove the rest of the way home. Which took about 7 hours. Which is almost as long as it took me to write this post ;). Okay, maybe not. But, it did take me over 3 hours. But, I hope you enjoyed it!!! I know I enjoyed re-living my Alabama trip :).

Love to all!!! Miss you all already (those of you down in Alabama -- or Florida -- or Oklahoma, etc. ;)).

And I'm probably missing tons of details... But, it's all good.