Drama....

I have to give myself props for being able to live a completely drama free life lately - but then again I never hang out with anyone anymore, except my dog and my Chad. Is it weird that no matter how much you try to avoid the spats they always seem to come along with every sort of socializing? I guess spats isn't the right word - maybe ... disagreements? No that's not right either. I guess what i'm trying to say is the way that you can interpret what other people say. Like, that was weird that he said that... i wonder why he would say that... was he trying to tell us something... should i say something back... should i just ignore it...? Either way i'm going to act totally weird the next time i see these people just incase they were trying to insult me...  It's frustrating. Ignorance is surely bliss. How do most adults handle these things? I am clearly still in the stage between teenage girl and adult and it seems like i can either choose to go full on crazy negative reaction or just completely ignore.... how do you find that middle ground? How do those people come about that seem to be so well liked and friendly and yet still get in their fair share of confrontation whenever the opportunity presents itself? I guess what i'm wondering is how do i become more of a politician - are there classes or something or is this just something i can expect to make sense in ten or twenty years from now?

Hermiston...!

I failed to mention that i have now been unemployed for exactly two months. The first week was fun, catching up on stuff around the house. The second week was nice, playing susie homemaker. The rest of it has been hell. Actual bored stiff hell. So i've expanded my job search to the entire state. Last week I had an interview with a construction company in Hermiston. Jolene happened to have a babysitter (husband) for the day of the interview, and the day after, so we got a hotel in Pendleton and made a night of it.
Here's how it all started - aka - the story of the night that Kati/Jolene were the life of Pendleton:

Well it was a Thursday night, (apparently Pendleton doesn't do thirsty Thursday?) we got a shuttle from our hotel to downtown, had a nice dinner and commenced bar hopping. The first bar was dead... i mean dead. Me, Jolene and the bartender (Josie - nice guy). We couldn't very well walk in and then just walk out, so we sat down for a quick drink... before long - this couple came sauntering in -

 They started playing pool and seemed like they were fun and maybe a little drunk - so next thing i knew Jolene was composing this:

Not the best picture, but the napkin says "we challenge you to a game of beer pong - signed, the ladies at the bar". The bartended deliver our note, the couple agreed, we taught them how to play - the bartender set the stage -

(Right after i took this picture he turned the lights off, turned on two spotlights, and started "eye of the tiger" on the jukebox) and so began the best night ever (in Pendleton, on a thursday).
Turns out people from the street could hear us hooping and hollaring and before long we had teams lined up to join the competition. When we got bored and left to go to another bar the crowd followed and as word spread that we were playing at this new bar folks just started showing up left and right (clearly these people are starved for entertainment?). It was a blast. Just wanted to document since i think my drinking buddy and i are maxed out on fun nights for the year and this will probably be our last for quite some time. Great night... i don't feel very confident about the interview, but dang... great night.

Another fun Memorial Day Weekend!

Chad's family takes an anual camping trip to the Coos Bay area every memorial day weekend - here are some pictures from the last trip.

{Little sissy wouldn't come out of the trailer all weekend}

{Jolene wheelyin'}

{Chad and his neice}

{Chad's mom absent mindedly jumped on the back of a bike with Chad - we could hear her screaming all the way from the parking lot}

The 'Garden'?

Here's what i'm good at - grass and gravel. SOO easy to maintain and keep alive (well the grass atleast). Last year i tried my hand at some flowers and some veggies and after a series of unfortunate events - i have YET to keep something alive. In 2011 I planted a couple of vines, some azaleas, a few rhodies and a variety of veggies. I was doing decent, not flourishing but atleast maintaining, until we housed 5 puppies. By the time the puppies found new homes there wasn't a single ground level plant still living. The vegetable garden was luckily out of their reach but unfortunately didn't survive me leaving town for a week in August. So here i am again, starting fresh - and look at my situation:

{Hydrangea No. 1 - Pretty Sad}

{Hydrangea No. 2 - Very Sad}

{Hydrangea No. 3 - Happy!}

What the heck?! All planted the same way, at the same time, within 5 feet of eachother. How did i manage this? I will have to do some hydrangea research and get back to you.  Here is my other plant for the year - i'm thinking 4 is my limit, if i can keep them alive i will try more next year.





The Filler

First, a little about myself. This blog is in no-way intended to be a cheap stab at my mother. She is a great 'woman'. She raised 4 kids, is a super neat freak and had dinner on the table every night - but for whatever reason, I was always more interested in being a dirty, outdoorsy, ruffian, hooligan and she never forced me otherwise. The recent turn of events that has caused me to change my ways is the fact that all the women in my boyfriends family are super-freaks of nature. We are talking great jobs, impecable houses, manicured lawns, and well-mannered children type of women who can pull 5-course meals out of their asses. Im afraid that if i don't change my ways these women might recognize that I am dating way out of my league and encourage Chad (boyfriend/golden child) to raise his standards.

{Here we are at the mall last Christmas}

This picture brings me to my next point. We have two dogs. Chad's dog, Peter, is a Border Collie/Coyote cross - aka - long haired mess. My dog, Riley, is a vicious blue heeler. After she bit the neighbor (Chad's sister) i had no choice but to take her to a less populated area (my parents house) to live until further notice. When she was knocked up by my brother's visiting friend's Border Collie, Chad and I mutually decided to keep one of the friendlier puppy versions of Riley, Tally (aka long haired mess No. 2).

{The reasons why i slave constantly to keep a clean house}

Well, more to come - but it's  beautiful day... i should probably be washing windows or something.



The beginning...

Well this is just your standard documented journey of a girl, raised as a boy, finally taking the steps to becoming a woman at the ripe age of 26. For whatever reason, I have been able to put off the transformation for so long that now I have no choice but to force myself to learn it all at once:  Cleaning, cooking, baking, sewing, crafting, photography, kids, and general homemaking. I have to admit that i have some natural ability in the cleaning department but, until recently, limited to no experience in the other categories. I would like this blog to be a documented journey that might be useful to my daughters someday (although i plan on having only sons.) Hope that it is helpful to you readers (if any of you come along) and, ideally, maybe you all can also be of some help to me! To be continued...

Here i am.... obviously eager to get the learning started.