Movies and Memories

So I just watched this movie and it is definitely a new fav. I seriously was either laughing (mostly) or crying through the WHOLE thing.
It amazes me how movies can stir emotions and memories. Maybe it's a human-connection issue.

Seriously, though, the circumstances don't have to be exactly the same but I find if I connect to the story, and many elements of it were "mine" at some point, it somehow makes the movie so much more than a visual entertainment experience.
Katherine Heigl was amazing...at times I could've sworn it was me in real life, not her in a movie. LOL
Anyways, loved it.

"Saving the world...one dog at a time."

Our short-lived adventure with "Beethoven" reminded me of a couple of things today. First, how much I adore and appreciate the unexpected moments that bring laughter into the days. Chane and I were driving back into town from my Dads' this afternoon when we saw something traveling down the middle of the road in front of us...

We thought it was too big to be a dog and all I could think/say was "Llama." Luckily, it WAS just a dog, but a HUGE one. I pulled over to look at his tags and there was only a # to a vet (which was closed). Chane insisted he'd find his way home, so we got back into the car to leave. This dog was literally SO big that as he sat outside my drivers' side door, he stared directly into the window. It was clear he had no intention of leaving, or letting us.

What ensued was a forty five min. wait on Railroad Rd. for animal control. The time passed there was (undoubtedly) full of laughter and random-dog bonding.

The post-bonding drive included a call from the Grandma, and when she asked what we had been doing all day, Chane responded, "Saving the world...one dog at a time."

I'm sure he's happy to be fed/watered and warm this evening and we have yet another funny memory...

Where I want to be today...

So, for whatever reason, the outdoors are calling my name today. I think this weekend is warranting a short trip...somewhere like this picture.

It may just be my new kicks that have maps on the bottom of the soles, which were engineeered by Jeep® (LOL), seriously...

BUT regardless, an adventure surely awaits.

The real question may be, can the flames still take me there? I recently saw that commercial that says, "When you turn your car on...does it do the same for you?" I seriously laughed out loud.

The last mountainous adventure the flames took was with Seil and all three girls and I'm surprised we're still alive...or at least made it back into civilization. We attempted Snowy Range pass - POST the seasonal closure - and when we couldn't make it, ended up winding out of the mountains on tiny dirt "passages" ... not really dirt. More like enormous puddles of mud, snow packed fields and rocky trails here and there.

This is the kind of adventure I speak of...something with vast openness, unexpected junctures and lots of laughter.

*pauses to sigh and just live*

This is where I feel we are at...
A happy "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" (in a *sigh* sort of way) stage.
My life is falling into place.
These have been my changes:

I have stability in the form of a career:
A truely "God-given" job has landed in my lap. It's a company full of people I love with an attitude/outlook just like my own. It's a faith-based company with awesome ideals and trust in their employees. They are flexible, comfortable and real. What a blessing.

I have the time and re-kindled enthusiasm to continually strive to be an excellent mother:
With financial stresses at bay (for possibly the first time ever) and regular hours I find myself settling into small, but significant, routines with K. The day-to-day sameness initially made me squirm but I'm finding peace and fulfillment in consonance...and that this leads to better parenting.

I have re-embraced my faith and found a balance within it. This is a part of me that I desperately missed without really realizing it. A new church plant here (it's called the Element) has been part of that fill. Outreach and selflessness are again bringing restoration to my soul.

I have re-attained past and developed new avidity for my passions, partially as a result of all of the above.

It's exciting in a new way...excitement oddly derived from tranquility.