March 25th marks the one-year anniversary for my sister and her gastric bypass surgery. My sister is 6 years my senior and even though we have our personality differences (her idea of camping is staying at a 3-star hotel), the biggest difference is in our looks. Most people can’t believe we are sisters. She has…
Voting is still open through the end of March for the Montana contest … come on people, don’t you want to see us get to Montana??? We are nowhere close to winning and need your votes!! http://mtcontest.backpacker.com/hopefuls/patrice-justin Well, we have finished our East Coast stint. J & I had decided before heading to these parts…
Well, this shouldn’t surprise you, but J & I are entering a contest. And we need your help to win!! This one is through Backpacker Magazine for us to win a week-long adventure trip to Montana as Step Out of Bounds Ambassadors. We would graciously let others live vicariously through us using the written word,…
What’s that they say about certainty in life? There are two things you can count on: death and taxes. The days surrounding J’s grandma’s funeral were a whirlwind of chaos. It was especially hard for J & I to have so much stuff packed into a 3-day period after having so little going on for…
This weekend was our last one at the cabin in the mountains of CO before we make our 3,000-mile detour to the East Coast to our house (AKA, very expensive storage unit) in VA and then head up to Oregon to start our new jobs and life. We knew saying goodbye to the cabin would…
I came across a “Currently” blog post from this Colorado blogger and I loved the idea. Apparently, this is not new to the blogging scene, but once again, I live under a rock when it comes to these things. So here goes my own version of “Currently.” Currently thankful for: being on blood thinners for…
Let me tell you how that East Coast storm (Pax? Can’t keep track of these stupid names!) affected us all the way in CO on Wednesday. 9am – Find out our friends’ (Fire Marshall Mac & Alex) flight from DC on Thurs is cancelled and they can’t get rescheduled until the 16th. Their visit is…
You know those life experiences that you have once and then swear you’ll never do again? Like bikini waxes. Or pregnancy and giving birth. I think snowboarding was on my list. I took lessons once, 4 years ago, and according to my very own blog post, I should not try to be a snowboarder. Well,…
I suppose this could be in the interest of “Throwback Thursday,” but J & I are always reflecting on the awesome summer we had and I realized I never shared some of the best scenes from the road. When you drive 30,000 miles through 37 states over the course of 5 months, you are bound…
J has abandoned me for the first of TWO bachelor parties this month. Strange to be separated from him for more than 1 night because not only have we been in the same time zone, state and city this summer, fall and winter, we have also spent all of the last 6,720 hours side by…
We are still enjoying our transition period at the cabin between one adventure to the next. I have loved having a space for silence, a space for ourselves and a space for routine. We’re still pet-sitting and it’s also been nice to have pets again; we are not typically dog people, but it is becoming…
You have to be wondering what we are doing these days since we don’t start our new gig until April. I imagine our life is very much like a retired couple’s life. And we are purposely enjoying what retirement periods we can now because it will take some major lottery winnings for J & I…
I have been dreading this post. You can probably tell I’ve been avoiding the blog, since I haven’t posted since the first day of the new year. Well, here goes. We have some bad news and some good news. First, the bad news. BP decided not to rehire us. I am sad, pissed and hurt…
Happy New Year from Colorado, our temporary “home” for the next 2 months. Lest you think we are on some “pot tourism” trip, I assure you we are not. Marijuana is JUST what my clot-infested lungs need, right?. It is merely pure coincidence that we are now living in Colorado and pot is legal for…
We have spent a number of Christmases with my family, but with that niece and nephew getting older and outgrowing the jolly obese guy in a red suit, we are switching sides. Especially because there’s this guy (nephew on J’s side) and he has lots of years to believe in S. Claus. Lil E definitely…
Well, we survived our almost 2 months in NJ. I say “survived” because J should really be granted sainthood for holing up with his in-laws in a box no more than 660 square feet. No one should have to do that in their life. I had to laugh at last night’s Saturday Night Live skit…
I try to steer clear of opening any can of worms on this blog by talking religion, politics, UFO sightings or whether there is a Santa Claus. But, I have one downfall. I’m looking at you, health care. My love/hate relationship with this subject could be because I make a good portion of my living…
Day 41 in New Jersey, but who’s counting? J was not counting and when I told him 41 days, he vomited in his mouth a little. Today, Jersey got some beautiful snow. Because J had to get lotto tix for my dad (and himself of course) for tonight’s Mega Millions, we decided to take a…
Well, it’s that time of year. My favorite time of year, actually. Thanksgiving into Christmas, when I get to decorate my home and REAL tree, write out all my cards, wrap gifts and bake goodies. Except for the fact that we don’t have a home this year. Not looking for pity here, just stating the…
Cliche or not, I would like to jump on the bandwagon (albeit a few days too late) and tell you what I am most thankful for this year. Well, besides the obvious thankfulness for surviving my blood clots in my lungs, that is. I am most thankful for y’all. This summer while we traversed the…