Movin' on up!

Well, it's been six months since I blogged. WHAT?!?!?! I've been busy!!!! So since it would be impossible for me to catch anyone up (like the three people that read this don't already know about my life!!!!), I will aspire to do better.

In the meantime, you should all know that we moved! I'd like to say it went off without a hitch, but I cannot do that. It was an effing disaster and I don't ever want to drive across the country again. EVER. Especially not with three spazzy-ass dogs.

Anywhoodles, here Lindsay and I are today...finding out first geocache in the Chico area!

In my blood

Music just seems to be one thing I am always current with. I'm not a movie person (at all) and until recently (a year-ish) I didn't read much either. However, music is something I am always exploring. It inspires, motivates, and moves me.

There really isn't any genre I despise, but I'm not big on country, head-banging metal/screamer rock, or anything that is completely foul-mouthed (some cursing is fine, but every other word is ridiculous).

My favorite genres: pretty much anything that was not mentioned above. No, really. Gimme a good beat I'm ready to rock/sway/dance/hold up my lighter and sing. ;)


I wanted to share a few of my favorite artist/groups and a few new discoveries I have made. First and foremost, my favorites, ones I consider classic to me:

1. Girlyman: best music discovery of the 21st century. These guys opened for The Indigo Girls at a show I went to in Bloomington in 2003. I immediately fell in love with them and have introduced many other fortunate souls since. #Alltimefavorite#
   
2. Ray Lamontagne: give him to me solo or with The Pariah Dogs, IDC. #smoothsound#
   
3. Tori Amos: my friend Joanie introduced me to Tori when I was 12. Her lyrics are sometimes dangerous, her piano skills amazing, and her voice is chilling. Love her. Big thanks to Joanie for that. #realbigtalent#
   
4. Indigo Girls: another introduction complimentary of Joanie. Seriously some kick ass tunes. #feelgoodmusic#
   
5. Scissor Sisters: raunchy, dancey, and electronic. #YUM#
6. Led Zeppelin: I don't even have to say anything else. #Classicrock#
   
7. Train: some of the best beats and lyrics I've ever heard. #favoritemalegroup#
8. Janet Jackson: a great artist with so much diversity in her music. Hello, Velvet Rope?!?! #rocksmyfaceoff#
9. Coldplay: captured me with "Yellow" in 2000. Loved them since. #foralloccassions#
10. Madonna: the queen. Edgy. Daring. Hot. #shesthebeesknees#

Artists that I have recently discovered that I adore:

1. Awolnation: a weird mix of electronics and rock. Sounds great to me.
2. Elisa: thanks to SYTYCD I found her a couple years ago.
   
3. Muse: always a good beat. Easy to listen to.
   
4. Eric Hutchinson: reminds me of Train and Coldplay, except solo.
   
5. Imogen Heap: a crazy mix of vocals and electronics to keep me interested.
6. The Avett Brothers: mellow sounds.
7. Tiesto: electronic inspiration.
8. Matt Natanson: unmistakable voice that I love.
9. Kings of Leon: who doesn't like these guys? Srsly.
10. Florence+The Machine: this lady can sing like whoa!

Last, but certainly not least, I feel that pop, R&B, and rap deserve their own category. I do love a lot of this music, but ultimately as you can see my favorites are the mellow, folky, and electronic types. However, I didn't want to contaminate my other favs with this nonsense, so they get their own little piece of my bloggy-blog-blog:

1. Lady GaGa
2. T.I.
   
3. Drake
4. Akon
5. Nicki Minaj
6. Sean Kingston
7. Eminem
8. Ludacris
9. Jamie Foxx
10. Katy Perry
11. Waka Flocka Fame
12. Iyaz
13. Taio Cruz
14. Rihanna
15. Beyonce
16. Trey Songz
17. P!nk
18. Nelly
19. Septemeber
20. Cascada

Alright, so basically if you ever ride in my truck with me, expect to hear a wide variety of music!!

GT! GOOOD TIMES!

i don't mind waiting in line
no no
i don't mind if the bills pile up
and the work is slow
i don't mind the gas or the groceries or the grind

as long as i'm with you
i'm having a good time

don't mind the stoner waiter
or the poorly cooked food
don't mind little miss kitty
or her knuckle-head dude
don't mind if every last person here
is ugly and rude
long as i'm with you
i've got a good attitude
long as i'm with you

we could be stuck in traffic
for over a week
with a car full of quintuplets
who are all cutting teeth
around my neck
could be a flaming christmas wreath
and i'd be smiling underneath
smiling underneath

i don't mind waking up early
for a flight that's delayed
i don't mind a week's vacation
was chilly and grey
i don't mind the traffic cops or the tsa
as long as i'm with you
i'm having a good day

don't mind spilling my hot sauce
onto my white shirt
don't mind the twinge when i walk
in that knee that i hurt
don't mind my gums peeling back
or my hair getting thin
long as i'm with you i win

We could be near a mountain...


Or in a land far away....



Or even right here at home...



It doesn't matter where we are. Even though there are like a skamillion miles between us right now, I am always thinking of you and waiting for you to come to me so we can have a good time!

Sleepers

The dogs have officially taken over the bed now that Lindsay is gone. It's ridiculous but so cute all at the same time. The arrangement used to be Sam by Lindsay's feet, Daisy curled up somewhere near my feet and legs, and Carmie RIGHT IN BETWEEN US (being a brat all night long). Of course Stone and Duke are way to big to sleep in bed, so they are always on the floor, snoring their faces off.

However, things have changed. All three of the little ones think it is now their job in life to keep me safe at night since Mama L isn't here to do make sure I see tomorrow. First of all, the three of them all have to be touching me in some way. Either a paw or a nose or an ear...but something has to be touching me. Sam sleeps on Lindsay's pillows (AHAHAAAHAHAAAA!!! Sorry babe!), Daisy sleeps wherever other dogs won't be touching her, and Carmie sleeps with her nose on my head...all curled up in my pillows and blankies.

It's nice to have all of these little creatures surrounding me and keeping me company. In fact, I think the five of them will keep my sane for the next few months. I love these little dogs. Anyhow, here is a picture of Lindsay's Baby Blonde Dog early this morning before I left for work.

A year of travel--reviewed.

I haven't written for a while, I'm a busy person. I decided that since it's officially been one year since Lindsay and I took our very first trip together I would celebrate with a post dedicated to some of my favorite photos of us and a bit of reflection. Here goes...

The very first trip that Lindsay and I ever took together was to Tennessee for my 28th birthday. I'm not gonna lie, it was a wreck mess because we couldn't get it together, but there were some good times (as always, duh). We rented a cabin for my bday and off we went.
Gatlinburg, Tennessee 02.09

Chillin' on the balcony of our cabin.

Being incredibly in love.
We ultimately had a good time on this trip. It was just a little rough. We had only been together for about three months and we hadn't figured each other out, yet. We still made the most of it!



Chicago, Illinois 04.09
This is one of the shortest(two days), fun-filled trips I have ever been on in my life. Lindsay and I went to Chicago for her first Girlyman show. It was fantastic. We saw Millennium Park, I rode a train for the first time in my life, the Girlyman show was excellent, and we did some touristy stuff, which actually was really cool. By the time we took this trip, we had our shit together (finally) and realized that traveling together made for the best times.
See us? :)~
On Navy Pier. I LOVE this picture.
Our last day in Chicago.




Portland, Oregon 8.09
Since Lindsay was gone nearly six weeks out of the summer, we decided it was time to take a real vacation. We didn't have any particular place in mind...just somewhere that neither one of us had previously been. We googled a map of the U.S. and after lots of talking we decided on Portland, Oregon. Excellent choice! We had a blast...although people rave about the food and we didn't understand why (with the major exception of VooDoo Doughnut). Portland is super clean, very GLBT friendly, easy to navigate, and gorgeous. Rent a car and go explore, it's awesome.
The world famous maple bacon bar from VooDoo Doughnut. Absolutely delicious. We waited in line for 45 minutes for these little gems. Worth every second of it.
At the Washington Zoo. They had a ton of animals and exhibits. We loved it, of course.
Wakheena Falls in the Columbia River Gorge. Gorgeous waterfalls all around us.
Let me tell ya, Mount St. Helen looks much closer than it is when you start driving towards it. GEESH! When we had driven as far up as we could go, there was a state park-ish thing. We just walked in (hello, it was open to the public, no gates, no one taking money except inside a building) and took a look at our surroundings. Lindsay was convinced we were going to get kicked out, so the experience was short lived.
Ridiculously in love. Watching the sunset in Astoria, Washington on the beach. This was my first time seeing The Pacific Ocean. It was COLD!!!!



Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 11.09
Lindsay had an APHA conference to attend in Philly in November, so we decided that one of our friends and myself would tag along. Bad idea. I should have stayed home. I got the stomach flu the night we arrived and was sick as hell the entire time. It was awful. However, I still managed to go out and see a little bit of Philly.
Star fish at the New Jersey Aquarium! Yep, that's my hand. Brandi and I went here and acted like five year olds while Lindsay was busy being a big brain.
Thanks for still loving me babe, even when I'm sick and we are traveling. :)






Senegal and The Gambia, West Africa 1.10
It just kinda happened that I got to go on the trip to Africa with Lindsay. I had never been on an international trip before and still to this day, can't believe that we had such an amazing opportunity to share this adventure. I'm honestly still in shock about how inspiring this trip was, so I'm still processing. I got to see things I could never dream of. A couple of things I hold near and dear to my heart from this trip: it opened so many doors for me and my eyes at the same time, made me want to learn Spanish (we had a layover in Spain, plus pretty much everyone speaks Spanish), the trip made me want everyone to SLOOOOW DOOOOWN, and last but not least it inspired me to study Anthropology. Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from the trip. You can check out Lindsay's post to get a more in depth review of our trip.
Welcome to Banjul! This was taken from a tower in downtown Banjul. I composed myself and picked up my jaw long enough to snap this little beauty. :)
BEACH!!!! Did you say beach? The Gambia is landlocked on three sides by Senegal (take a peek, here) but luckily we were staying on the coast, so I got to see (and play in!) The Atlantic Ocean from Africa! HA! As you can see, it was gorgeous.
Lindsay with her favorite thing ever, solar panels. We visited a HUGE hospital out in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (no seriously) that uses solar power for 90% of it power.
Dream come true! I got to hold this cutie little African baby. He wasn't so sure about me, but let me hold him anyhow. This was taken in a remote village.
A different village with LOTS of kiddos. This is our driver, Yabo's village. The very tall white man is Dr. Nagengast, the man who made all of this happen.
Lindsay and I near a HUGE koi pond at The Gambian President's resort. Just keepin' it classy, as always.
Cattle, just crossing the road. No bigs. This happens CONSTANTLY in Africa. If you don't stop for them and you hit one with your vehicle, you have to find the farmer it belongs to and pay him for his loss.
I found this very interesting. It's just a bore hole to get water from, but I'd never seen anything like that, so I was amused. One of the students lowered a bucket down into the water, pulled it up to our level, and then transported it up a sand hill to the main water pot that the residents use for daily cooking, drinking, etc. NEATO-O.
The group.
We visited a slave house on an island in Senegal. It was uber creepy. This is me in solitary confinement. I was being bad, apparently.



New York City, New York 1.10
Our flight from Africa arrived in NYC later than we could catch a flight back to Indy, so we just stayed there! I had only been once when I was much younger, less traveled, and it was a really bad experience. Lindsay wanted to show me that it's not so bad. She was right! In about 6 hours, we saw Ground Zero (BOOOORRRRRING), Times Square, and Central Park. Oh..and we got lost (kind of). It was awesome.
Ground Zero. I told you it was boring.
Times Square was fantastic! Soooo many people and places.
Excited to be in Central Park. It was nice to escape the noise for a while and see what the hype is about. I figured it out....it's HUGE.
Me and Lindsay in Central Park. We were judging people. =D




I've never traveled this much in one year, ever. It just kind of happened for me/us. As you can see, I've been so many places and met so many people in the past year. I'm so fortunate to have Lindsay in my life. Without her, none of this would be possible and so many other great things wouldn't have happened (going back to school, believing in myself, this deserves a whole other blog post). Our travels will continue and I will always try to share them with you. Stay tuned!

Cancer Survivor

Some of you may (or may not) know that I am a long-time survivor of childhood cancer (leukemia). I just wanted to take a minute to reflect on that. I think writing things down and actually observing them makes me a little more in-tune with life. Keep a few things in mind while I share this part of me with you: some of this I remember, some of it I have COMPLETELY blocked out of my memory, and some of it is what my mom has shared with me throughout the years, a reconstruction of sorts.

Several factors make my cancer discovery, diagnosis, and treatment and absolute anomaly. If it weren't for my mom, I WOULD NOT be alive today, and not just because she was the person to find my cancer, but for so many other reasons (another blog, soon to come). So basically this is what happened. One day my mom was giving me a bath. Like another other 4 year old, I was splashing around and being silly, acting like a crazy-crazbo. Mom decided it was time to wash my little body. I was notorious for running around with my big brother and LOVED to get dirty, so it wasn't uncommon for me to have dirt caked in random places. When scrubbing my upper leg/inner thigh, mom noticed a bump. I'm quite sure she probably looked at it, squeezed it, and asked me questions about it, but clearly I don't remember that.

Like any concerned parent, she made an appointment for me to see a pediatrician. I say A PEDIATRICIAN because mine (Dr. Sorrells...the man who welcomed me into this world...the BEST doctor, ever) was out on vacation or something of the sort. We were referred to a family physician, Dr. Calhoun in Seymour, IN. We go to the appointment. No testing is ordered, he says I must have an "infection." I'm written a prescription for what I'm sure was probably an antibiotic medication, but all I can remember is that it tasted like charred, rotten steak. SICK. Sometime later, probably a week or two, we go back and no changes.

By this point, mom is over it. She just has this feeling that something is wrong. So she calls to see if Dr. Sorrells is back in the office. We get an appointment to go see him. (Everything that happens from here pretty much becomes a blur in my brain). Dr. Sorrells pretty much takes one look at me and says "this kiddo is sick. Let's get her to Riley for some testing."

I can't say that I remember actually being diagnosed with cancer. I probably don't remember 85% of what happened next. I can however, tell you this: everything that I DO remember is AWFUL. What has stuck with me the past 23 years is just being SICK.

At the age of 4, I was diagnosed with a type of leukemia, malignant hystiocytosis. It was such a rare cancer that my team of oncology doctors had NO IDEA how to treat it. A central venous catheter, or central line was placed in my chest. I was to be administered aggressive chemotherapy treatments, 5 days a week, indefinitely. The main drugs that I took were cytoxan, methotrexate, and adriamycin, the LOVELY drug that causes ones' hair to fall out.

I remember waking up from one of my surgeries and having this GIGANTIC bandage wrapped completely around my entire torso. I was so confused, I just wanted it off of me, and the pain in my back was so intense. What had happened in surgery is that bone marrow had been taken out of my spine, or somewhere near it. I remember being sick, that I couldn't lift my head to take a drink. I remember being so disconnected from my father and my brother because I was in Indianapolis at Riley 5 days a week, so I didn't get to see them much.

I remember really awful, gruesome details from spinal taps. And the absolutely disgusting taste of some of those medicines. And having two tubes sticking out of my chest. And always feeling like something was crawling inside the right side of my neck, but OH...that was just my central line moving around. I remember vomiting uncontrollably. I remember being SICK. REALLY FUCKING SICK.

What I also remember is that my mom NEVER, not for one second, left my side. I never spent a night alone in the hospital. I was never deprived foods I wasn't allowed to have because the sodium content was too high. I never NEEDED anything. I never went ONE SINGLE minute without my mom telling me how beautiful I was and how precious my life was to her. I ALWAYS felt my mom's love, beaming on me like sunshine.

So, after 18 months of chemo, multiple surgeries and biopsies, the placement, replacement, and removal of two central lines, emergency trips from Seymour to Indy at 3am, dragging my body through whatever the hell could be thrown at me...I made it. I kicked cancers' ass!!!!

Portland Day 4

By day four in Portland, we were feeling like we had done almost everything the city had to offer. We had a relaxing day being in love and walking around downtown. We visited Finnegan's Toys, went to the movies and saw "Adam" (which was actually REALLY good...until the ending), and visited VooDoo Doughnuts again. We knew we had to get up early the next morning for our flight home, so we called it a night around midnight. All in all, a great way to wrap up a super fun vacation.

Day 3 in Portland!

Day 3 in Portland was AMAZING. Lindsay and I had an absolute blast!!! We decided the night before that we would rent a car. We searched around and found the best deal was with Hertz. We got a sporty little car with GPS for I think eighty dollars. Unlimited mileage and we had it for 24 hours. Thanks, Hertz!




We were on the road by 9am. The previous night we mapped out our drive. We would first head east to Multnomah Falls and The Columbia River Gorge, then go back through Portland and north to Mount St. Helens, and IF we had time we would head west to Seaside, OR.

Follow this link to check out our route. It kicked ass.

Anyhow...moving on. So, I took over 200 pictures on day 3. It really was pretty much the best thing ever, so I had to capture pretty much every single moment. No, seriously.


This is the first place we ended up, Wahkeenah Falls. It was gorgeous. There was a nice paved path so we decided to climb up and get a closer look.

As mention, paved path.

Fat kid dying of thirst on paved path.

Oh!!! Good thing I found something to drink! It was actually the best water I've ever tasted. And before you ask, no, I didn't get sick. I live on the edge, occasionally.

Yea, we got SOAKED. Totally worth it.

Shiny, wet-faced Ange and Lindsay in love.

I promised this little guy if he let me take his picture, that he'd become famous. :)

Looking out across the Columbia River.

Me being pissed because Lindsay wanted to continue walking on a path that was leading to nowhere.

Okay, so I got unmad REAL quick and we carried on...

Our next stop, just a mile or so down the road, was Multnomah Falls. It was super gorgeous, but incredibly touristy.

Pretty. Really pretty. Post card pretty.

OH!!! And heart-shaped! Even better!

After being REAL done at the falls, we grabbed a latte and a muffin and headed for Mount St. Helens. Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee???

We couldn't have gotten there without Madge, our little GPS buddy.

Wahoo! We're there! HA! Not quite....
Yea, that big "THING" in the background behind me, that's Mount St. Helens. Little did we know (until informed by a kind information center employee) that it is another hour and a half drive to see that beast up close and personal. Are ya shittin' me? Carry on...no need to get SO CLOSE. Let's go!!!

Thankfully, it was a GORGEOUS day and the drive complimented it well.

All along the drive to the mountain, there are places to pull off and snap away. We did just that. This is what the path of lava flow looks like 30 years later...

A better view.

Post card style.

These folks are SUPER SERIOUS about preservation, understandably so.

"Plants grow by the inch and die by the foot." Clever.

Mount St. Helens from Johnson Observatory.

Thank you, kind Asian family for taking our picture in front of the mountain!!!!

We headed out of there...and back to Oregon!

On the way, we noticed that the speed limit signs are missing a word....

Welcome to Astoria, OR! What an adorable little town! It has ocean! It smells so wonderful!

And lots of ships too!

Lindsay being silly behind a GIANT anchor.

HAHA! This is Lindsay after she made the mistake of ringing this bell. People must have heard it for miles.

Enough of Astoria! Let's get to Seaside where there is BEACH! Down the 101 we go!

Oh god! Sand! Beach!!!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....so chilly yet so soothing. WE LOVE THE OCEAN...and this was our first trip to the ocean together.


My love splashin' around in the water...we did this for quite some time.

Yay for cool pics at the beach.

OMG! It was soooooooooo chilly after being in the water. So, we burried our feetS in sand.



One of the sweetest moments of my life. Being SO in love with my love, watching the sunset on the beach, in the Pacific Northwest. *PERFECTION*


Sunset in Seaside, OR.


After getting back in the car and cranking the heat up to maximum for a few minutes, we cruised around and ate at a less than satisfactory seafood restaurant. Then we took a very long and dark drive back through the mountains and came within miles of running out of gas. What a great day!