Ordinary Adventures

It's freakin' chilly outside. Came home to a fire in the fireplace. True story. Ahhh, cozy.

Sitting here in the dark with my glass of wine, Jason Wade on Pandora, candles lit all over...

I love wine. I have to admit I miss all the vineyards in Oregon. It was so nice to just wake up some Saturday morning and decide to go vineyard hopping and wine tasting. I could spend an entire day visiting vineyards and hardly travel 15 miles. They're just everywhere. I've heard (several times now) about the wine in Colorado. Apparently there are vineyards on the western slope, but... I have yet to travel there to check it out. That would be a treat, though. (Anyone up for a road trip?)

There were a few little flakes of snow falling this evening. And so it begins... We missed the snow, and... well... here it comes. I'm sure by March we'll be saying, "That's too much. That's too much f-ing snow." But, as it stands, I'm looking forward to it. I actually want to shovel my door step. (It is really stupid of me to have written this. I'm sure that I will now be the sole door step shoveler. Shoot.) I want to make snow angels... in front of the drive-thru window at Starbucks. (My spousal unit paid me a dollar to do this last year. I would have done it for free.) I want to chuck firmly packed snowballs right at Scott's neck. I'm not gonna lie. He's an ass. He deserves it. I'm just sayin'. Unfortunately for me, this means paybacks tenfold, which usually means a full body-slam and/or face plant into a pile of snow, with a decent chance of getting a bloody nose from either 1) the impact, b) the cold, or 3) both. But... it would totally be worth it.

I want to get up early in the morning, while the snow is still falling gently, and be the first to make tracks, hearing the crunch of the snow under the weight of my footsteps.  I want to lay on my back and feel the chill of snowflakes landing on my eyelashes.

I wonder if I'll need to plug my car in here... I never knew about that until I lived in Montana.

When it's 40 below zero, there's a good chance your car won't start without it.

The unknown.  I love experiencing things for the first time.  Especially when those experiences take your breath away.

I love to savor every moment - drinking it all in and burning it onto the walls of my memory.

Adventures! Like... traveling to new places. I've seen some pretty amazing places, but there are so many others that I'd love to visit. And I don't mean just spending a day or two on some whirlwind vacation to 6 different countries in 14 days. I mean, spending a good two weeks or more in one location - several times a year. Or... ideally, spending an entire year (or more) traveling, immersing myself into the culture, visiting with the locals and perhaps making a friend or two in the process. Like bellying up to a pub in Ireland, gathering around a piano and signing American showtunes. (My aunt & uncle have done this... I'm so envious.)  Or sitting at a tiny little wrought iron table with a bottle of wine, overlooking a beautiful hillside vineyard in Italy. Or trying on puffy sweaters with big snowflakes on it in Switzerland.

Or admiring priceless pieces of art at the Louvre in Paris. Or... sitting at the end of a long dock with my feet dangling in the Mississippi.

I don't care how close or how far, I want to see it all. Taste it all. Experience all of it. Making an ordinary day an extraordinary memory.

Every day is an adventure if you look for it. Like sitting at a Starbucks for two hours with a friend answering questions you've never been asked before. Or offering a hug to someone who just looks like they needed one. Or helping a stranger who had a flat tire at a busy intersection. Or just gazing into each other's eyes and somehow knowing exactly what the other is thinking and feeling without a word being spoken.

Life is too short to let those moments pass by. I like to keep my eyes open. I'd hate to miss something that could have been meaningful.

Update: Spousal unit just told me that if I even come close to chucking a firmly packed snowball at his neck, I'll be seeing white for the next month, followed by, "That's a good way to Piss. Me. Off."

Just for the record, I still think it would be worth it. **diabolical laughing"  His empty threats do not sway me in the slightest.

Update: Spousal unit just said, "I'm really fast in the snow. I'm like a friggen magical leopard. I practically run on top of the snow."

Um... even not being a magical leopard, would you still not run on top of the snow? I mean, You wouldn't be running underneath it. I'm just sayin'.

Update:  Spousal unit just said, "What's important is the magical leopard part."

My response: Which part would that be?