Only 19 more days...

Already this year has been crazy busy and I've been crazy tired from the many birthday parties, work projects, and crazy band cr@p going on. And un-lucky (and ironically) for me after just getting vaccinations for both the flu and the h1n1 virus (along with 3 other shots), I found myself starting to feel ill. And even though I knew that both flu vaccinations were not live viruses, I still kept thinking that it was too much of a coincidence. A few days later after I've used up my 3 sick days for the year, and when I found I couldn't even talk from my laryngitis, I was ready to strangle the travel clinic nurse who suggested that I would need those shots for our trip to Thailand. I haven't been this sick in years.. so not cool lady! Lucky for her, I was too weak to drive down there and do the job and too mute to chew her out over the phone for over a week. And now as my voice is coming back and I am feeling a bit better, I find I can be logical once more and just accept that I got sick from stopping by that germ infested travel clinic.

Anyway, why am I talking about all this? I’ve realized there are real reasons to getting your travel shots AT LEAST 4 weeks before your trip.. you could get dead arm, sick, become mute, or end up having to go to jail for strangling your travel clinic nurse.. and you need time to get excited about your trip beforehand. Also, travel shots are VERY expensive (5 vaccinations X 2 people = $500+.. and I still need to pick up our malaria & TD pills too) so make sure you plan for that. Oh, and did I mention that getting your tetanus and typhoid shots hurt like hell afterwards.. talk about dead arm! I had serious bruising and couldn’t use my arm for a few days without it hurting. So take note and get them well in advance of your trip.

Now with only 19 days until we leave for Thailand I’m starting to feel some real excitement. ;) I guess it's time to start thinking about the details.

Here is our itinerary with Intrepid:

Day 1... Bangkok
Days 2-4... Kanchanaburi/River Kwai
Day 5... Ayuthaya
Days 6-7... Chiang Mai
Day 8... Homestay
Days 9-11... Hilltribe Trek
Days 12-13... Chiang Rai
Days 14-15... Bangkok

http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trips/TSN

Clothes I need to bring:

My cute new purple swimsuit!!! I got it from modcloth ;)
Sarong - may buy in Thailand
2 cotton t-shirts
1 long sleeve hiking shirt
1 long skirt that covers the knees for temples
1 pair of ballet flats for temples
1 long sleeve cover up
2 pairs of linen pants
1 pair of zip off pants
2 wicking shirts
3 pairs of wicking socks
Running shoes
Outdoor sandals with good grip (may buy some chacos or the like)
3 pairs of patagonia undies
3 bras

Important Items:
Travel documents: passport, travel insurance certificate, air tickets, Intrepid voucher
Money belt, cash, cards
Prescription glasses (if I can get some before hand.. eek)
Sunglasses
Alarm clock
International adapter
Our Kindles and charger..
My Ipod w/ headphones and charger
Cody's Iphone
Binoculars
Main camera with memory cards, spare batteries, charger, and lenses
Waterproof camera with memory cards, & charger
Deodorant travel size
Facial wash and lotion in 1 oz bottles
Facial Sunscreen
SPF 80
Travel Brush
Travel Toothbrush and toothpaste
2 bandanas
Chapstick / lip balm
Baby wipes
Travel Size hand Sanitizer
Travel Size shampoo and conditioner
Dr. Brennens soap in 1 oz bottle
Lock for bag (for train)
Ear plugs/eye mask for train
Language phrase book
Guide book on thailand
Insect repellent / Deet
Razer

Hiking Items
SteriPEN
Lightweight travel towel
Pillow liner (to stuff clothes in)
Sleeping bag
Sleeping pad
Pack cover & duffle bag cover
Carabiners
Small First Aid Kit.. Malaria Pills, tiger balm, etc.
Travel size Body glide
Fleece for warmth at night
Headlamps with extra batteries
Raincoat / Waterproof Jacket ?
Hat
Roll-less Toilet Paper
Dry Shampoo
Sharpie pen
Knife, spoon, fork?

And maybe if it fits..
Hair stuff: flat iorn, bobby pins, headband, clips, and the like for my hair
TanTowel Towelettes.. 'cause i can't get a tan any other way.. lol
Makeup: Jane Iredale PurePressed Base SPF 20, some mascara, and a small eyeliner
Downey wrinkle free spray (travel size)
Shout stain wipes
Playing cards
Packable Summer Dress
Travel air pillow
Folding paper fan
Small journal and pen

Pack & Organization
Debating between my Osprey and my Arcteryx
Debating between packing cube and compression sack for clothes
Thick Trash Bag
Pack Cover
Ziplock bags
Clear zip bag for airport carry on
Laundry bag

I hate the packing part. Too bad my extra day in bangkok isn't before the trip or I could just buy my clothes there. I heard t-shirts in the markets are only around $3.00 each.. dare
I hope!?! Oh, well. Maybe I'll just toss out my sweaty yucky hiking clothes for some cute market steals. ;)

Another year bites the dust..

As I didn't blog all year, here is 2009 in a nutshell:

January - Backpacked the lost coast with Cody, Kyle, and Mia.. thought I was going to kill my hubby for how hard it was. Murder Game was released and made #1 on the NY Times.. woot woot!

February - Took ballroom dance classes with my cousin Nick. Had great times with my grandpa and the boys. Can't remember what else.

March - Filled with birthdays.. Cody, Brian, Mark to name a few. Othere then that March is a blur. Took out my nose ring.. kept getting caught on everything. What a pain. Only got my nose pierced based on a dare from my cousin Lisa.. I know that makes me sound like an idiot.. I am.

April - Moved from Ukiah to Graton. Enrolled Mia in agility. She loves it. Went backpacking in Hetch Hetchy (Yosemite) with Kyle, Ross, and Cody. Loved it. So beautiful there. Drop Motion is starting to do shows down here. Yay for the boys.





May - No longer stealing the Internet from her nice neighbors. Now I even have Comcast so I can watch the office.. very cool! Been years since I've had tv. I got my camera back from our trip to Peru and Tucson. Arlo finally sent it. I'm so happy to see those pictures! Mom made #1 with Burning Wild on NY Times!! Go mom! Mia's birthday party was a big hit. Everyone had a blast. Best birthday party EVER! The photos are adorable. My laptop died.. crashed and burned. I cried over the loss of my photos that were not backed up. So so sad. But life goes one and now I have a new one. Getting used to it.





June - I cut my hair and went red. It's now very short. Girls trip to New York with my mom, Aunt Renee, Domini, Manda, and Cece. I dragged Cece and Renee around the city with me. Saw the statue of liberty, Ellis island, empire states building, and lots more fun stuff. Even learned to use the NY subway all by myself to get Renee and I to and from Central Park. This travel stuff is getting easier. We saw two broadway shows, Wicked & Chicago. Wicked was my favorite. I had the most amazing seats too.. 6th row & center!!! Thanks to mom's publishing house for those tickets!! Amazing! I fell in love with broadway and NY.







July - Cody and I go backpacking in Tahoe with Kyle, Sco, Em, and Mia. Mom makes #1 on the NY Times with Hidden currents! Drop Motion rocked at Jasper's and Sand By the Ton in Oakland.. amazing shows! Sand By the Ton was very stange though. It was like a mini-burning man kind of thing and dress seemed to be optional. Cody turns to me after their set is over and says.. "Want to go home and watch Harry Potter? This is just too crazy." - Just 1 more reason why I love him. Our good friends Samvega played at the Hopmonk with Music for Animals.. yes!!! Great show! Manda and the girls come for a visit. Had so much fun with them on the coast. We played in the splash pad and learned to flight kites. Went to see Kelly Clarkson with Skyler Rose. Just us girls. Had a blast. Cody and I have our 4th wedding anniversary. We had yummy Indian food and went to see the new Harry Potter movie in theaters to celebrate. I thought it was our 5th.. Ooops! Too many years together has muddled my timeline.










August - Cody and I went backpacking with a Brian, Abel, Sco, Neem, Aria, Em, George, and Naria at caribou wilderness near Lasson. Mia even had some pups to play with as Hula, Zorro, and Lucky came with us. We had the whole lake to ourselves! Then had an amazing vacation with Cody. Went to Zion, Bryce Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Canyon Lands, Arches, 4 Corners, Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, Great Basin, & best of all we backpacked the Grand Canyon (north to south).








September - Mom's Dark Slayer makes #1 on the New Year Times for hardcovers. I'm very proud of her. All her new books made it #1 this year.. I think that's a first. Lisa is coming to visit. I'm so excited. Then my world falls apart. Harley boy was fading fast. He lost the use of his back legs and his body was giving out. Lisa still comes to visit me. She is so sweet to tries and cheer me up. We hang at the coast with our moms and Harley. I then spent another week with Harley on the coast so he could be with my family and in the cool air that seemed to help him breath. Cody take work off too because it looks like there is no way he was going to make it through the month. My best friend was leaving this earth. My heart broke. RIP Harley Boy. I'll always love you.




October - Mia is starting to be her crazy self again and I'm starting to function. At least I can be around other people without falling apart. Cody takes Mia and I to Big Sur for the weekend to help us get our mind off of loosing Harley. We tried to go backpacking but I wasn't up for it. First time I've ever turned around on a trip. I just couldn't do it. So hard to do anything with this pain and as Alice died in October 4 years ago it's already a hard month for me. He is so sweet about it though and we manage to have a good time anyway. My Aunt Nancy had a beautiful wedding and lots of family came. We all went dancing that night and had a blast. There was even a salsa dancer there. I turned out to be a great night. Samvega has their CD release party in San Fran at the Bottom of the Hill. Crazy fun show. I'm very proud of them. Drop Motion is asked to go on local TV. They even record a nice live album there.. cool. Then Domini, Cody, Mia and I hit the road. Our first stop was Portland to visit our good friend Brandon. Then up to Washington to see Manda, Morey, and the girls for Halloween. We went to the pumpkin patch and I had my first corn maze experience. It was set up like clue. Domini, Skyler, Cody, and I spent hours trying to solve it.. only to find out one clue is missing so you can't. But we didn't care.. we had fun. I was a rag doll for Halloween.





November - Still on the road going through beautiful Canada.. British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatewan. Our mission? PUPPIES!! Borzois to be exact. My sister is getting one and we are brining one back to someone in CA as a favor. Stopped by Kathie’s for a few hours. Just enough to sleep and get back on the road. Good seeing her and Travis and Tanner. Can't wait to get back to see all our Utah pals. Utah has made a place in my heart. Back in time for last Drop Motion show of the year. Boys won't play again until Feb of 2010. It was a blast. Cody takes me spelunking for my birthday and I repel into a huge cavern.. amazing! I love my hubby. Thanksgiving is crazy.. lots of food, family, and fun. Perfect.













December- Crazy crazy month. Meant to decorate and put up a tree. Never happened. Tons of problems with the Cobb house. Cody spent most of the month working up there. I spent most of the month on the coast with family. Lucky mom had 4 trees so I didn’t feel so bad not having one. My sister came up for two weeks with the girls and her hubby. We had a cookie party, shopped for presents, wrapped presents, saw the Princess and the Frog and had movie nights. Christmas was wonderful. New Years was quiet. We stayed home and watched When Harry Met Sally and tried to see the Blue Moon through the fog. Just Cody, Mia, and me. I miss Harley Boy.

Deaths to Dreads... Bon Voyage!

So the time has come to deal with the mess on my head. My dreads are now over 2 months old and if I don't take them out I'll have to keep them until I shave my head.

THE GOOD: Truth is, I've rather fallen in love with my dreads. The texture, the crazy way they stick straight up when you aren't paying attention, the way you can wrap them up so cute in pig tails or buns, the way you never feel like you have to wear makeup.. 'cause you are a dirty hippy anyway. Dreads are a kind of freedom that I never expected. They open doors to people I never would have thought to talk to, they surprise you with the number of people who adore them (including your own mother & husband), they give you the freedom to do absolutely nothing to your hair when you get up. Dreads surprise you and make you approach life different because your eyes are suddenly open to other peoples prejudice or lack of, their views or energy. Dreads make you stand out.

The not so Good:
But Dreads aren't just like any other hairstyle I know. With dreads comes responsibility to keep them nice.. an exhausting feet if your hair is like mine. After 6 hours of backcombing to put them in, you think that's it. WRONG! Every day you have to palm roll them. You can't let them be wet for too long or you risk mold or fungus. Everything sticks to them.. leaves, dog hair, fuzz, ect. You have to be so careful not to mess them up when you sleep or when you take a shower. You have to wax them once a week. You have to worry about other dreadheads giving you lice or fungus and then fear shaving your head if you get it.

The truly annoying: Dreads are also a very controversial hairstyle. With Dreads you have people questioning if you should even have them in the first place. People either love or hate them. Even people who have them may think YOU shouldn't have them. Some think that need to be black, some think you need to be Rasta, and some just think you can’t be blond. Oh, and being a blond dreadhead means one thing to 90% of people.. that you’re a "dirty hippie"!

There is controversy over who had the first dreads - some say Celtics (white people - can't be true then), some say prophets had dreads, some say Rastas started dreads, and some people say it's a black hairstyle only.

Then there is the controversy over how to take care of your dreads & even how to create them. Some say you should not wash or brush your hair and let it do it on its own, some say go to the salon and have them perm it, some say to backcomb, and some to braid. Some say wax should NEVER be put in your hair and others swear that it’s VERY important.

Let's just say that everything you've ever heard as "fact" about dreads will and often is argued to the extreme.

Do I care about any of this? NO! Can people understand that I don't care? No way! And I think people who do are idiots. I know that's harsh.. another reason why I'm not a good peace loving hippy.

Bottom Line: I think that Dreads are NOT "just another hairstyle" they really are their own culture. I think you have to love them so much that they become part of your life. You almost have to be a dread expert & a dread spokesman to survive the dread journey. You have to be willing to face people’s views that you don't share. Most people will think you don't shower, that you smoke weed, that you must have some "political reason" or "spiritual reason" for doing such a thing to your hair. You also have to expect that people will suddenly tell you all kinds of things you never wanted to hear. Other dreadheads will feel a kinship to you and want to hangout. Weird yoga people will say "Namaste" to you when you part. Dirty men will think you are the hottest thing ever. Teenagers will think you are “so cool”. The list goes on and on and on..

The verdict: I read someone's blog on dreads that said "It’s a counter-cultural hairstyle. I had gotten sick of people looking in my grill, making assumptions about who I am, what I was smoking. The time had come for me to have secrets." That really hit me. I like my secrets too. I like to be under the radar. I don't like a lot of attention and dreads = attention. And I don't like people to assume they know me just because we have the same hair. With Dreads you find yourself playing a part because you are almost undercover due to people’s impressions of who someone with dreads should be. And although I love messing with peoples impressions of the world, this was a task I couldn’t commit my hair’s life to. I don't want to be "undercover" for the rest of my life, I want to be me at least most of the time.

Death to Dreads: So now after 8 hours of hardwork by my wonderful cousin Jess they are all gone. I'm now Dread Free. Bon Voyage to my crazy dreads! Oh how I will miss you my friends. It was fun, it was inspirational, and it was a true adventure. I will always love you. Maybe someday we will meet again. ;)

Here is a little slide w/ pics from my Dread Days & some from when we were taking them out.

Back from Peru & Tucson

Well, back from our trip. We went to Peru & Tucson. We had a great time. I can't wait to get to the point of wanting to tell the whole world all about it.. at least in more detail then "it was a blast". However, at this time I'm just too tired. So the short version is: we hiked the Inca trail, we saw a ton of ruins, we met amazing people, and had a ton of fun. I got attacked by a llama, a frog, & a chicken.. not all at once, but it happened... the chicken even pooped on me! Yuck-o!!! We went days with out showers, some of us got very sick, we learned that the Incas were crazy smart, that Peruvians are the sweetest and strongest people alive now, that hairless dogs are way cool, and that gay bars can be quite dangerous to men with rainbow colored Peruvian masks... Cody I hope you are paying attention to that one. I also learned that I like bikes as long as I don't have to do any of the peddling, I like to play on swings way more then any adult should, and I really suck at climbing down from trees. I also really hate leaving my dogs for more then a day, but I'm sure that's not going to keep me from traveling more. Boy I’m glad to be home again. After 10 flights, over 30 miles of hiking, a train ride, and more bus & car rides then I can count, I’m very happy to just stay in one place for a while.

P.S. Never use the word "fanny" even for "fanny pack".. it's a VERY dirty work in Europe. Trust me. I found out the hard way.

Mark & Tina's Wedding

It's been a little while since the big day, but I finally got my pics uploaded to my computer from Mark & Tina's wedding.

Their big day started off a little crazy with the fear of rain, but after some last minute changes to move indoors it all went well. It was still a big cramped.. ok, a lot cramped! Which 7 bridesmaids, 1 junior bridesmaid, 5 flower girls, & 7 groomsmen there wasn't a lot of room in my mom's house for guest to watch, but somehow we made it work. And then the sun came out for the party and we had a blast.

Mark looked amazing as usual all dressed up & Tina was very beautiful in her gorgeous dress. It was probably the most emotional wedding I've ever been too as everyone seemed to be crying. Tina was crying on her way down the aisle with her grandpa and the tears kept flowing the whole time. Soon EVERYONE was crying. It was like a bad soap opera but in a good way kind of thing. I even got a little teary eyed this time and let me just say that the only time I've ever cried at a wedding was my own.

And I have to say that the music was AMAZING. Some amazing chick.. aka me.. put together the best dance music ever plus she did a wonderful job of managing the untouchable mixing board as Cody was part of the wedding party and couldn’t maintain control at all times. Poor poor boy he was. To get a sense of the music energy of the day, here are some highlights: The bridal party walked to “Halleluiah” by Bon Jovi, Tina walked to “My Best Friend” by Tim McGraw and the grand finally after the ceremony was to "I'm to Sexy" by Right Said Fred. Yep, Mark just had to have that. I’m sure you can see why this set me to tears. ;)

Then there was the first dance to “You and Me” by Lifehouse, a father/daughter dance to “My girl”, & the mother/son dance to “A Song for Mama’ by Boys To Men. As a special tribute to Mark from Tina, her daughter sung a beautiful version of “Because you Loved Me”. But by far, the most enjoyable song of the night was “Enter Sandman” by Metallica. It was probably a dangerous choice due number of children in the room who almost got stomped to death and the fact that Mark ended up hurting his leg, but how was I too know that my family were so talented at moshing? Now that’s a wedding!

Hanging On... Just Barely

“President Bush said it's now time for a change in Iraq and he wants them to have a Western-style democracy like ours. So right now in Iraq, the economy is collapsing, businessmen are corrupt, and Hussein wants his son to take over as president. Sounds like mission accomplished.” -- Jay Leno

Like most American's these days my hubby and I have been glued to the TV watching the presidential debates, watching the stock market crisis unfold, watching the often hilarious comedy spoofs of our future elect. And although I find this stuff entertaining & often funny, I mostly find it VERY scary. Today it really hit home. Cody came home with bad news: he was laid off. No work. Something I've heard a lot in the last few years..

Yep, his boss went on vacation for 2 weeks in France & when he left all looked good. Coming back, all of his clients had pulled out. They can't afford the remodels due to the stock market. There is nothing on the books at all. No jobs. And these are clients in the Napa Valley & Bay Area with million dollar homes! Almost everyone is being let go, even employees who have worked for him for years. Cody already was laid off from 2 other cabinet shops in the last few years that had middle class clientele. These are upper class clients who make MILLIONS & now they can't afford it! What the heck is going on? Worse yet, where is he going to work now? We just moved last year to Ukiah for this job.

We can't sell our house as no one can get a loan, our renter left because she can't afford the rent 'cause she has no work, and now we are paying for rent in Ukiah & our mortgage w/ no 2nd income that we need. Thank goodness for our savings which already has been vastly depleted. It isn't like we can just go back to Cobb as there is NO work there. All 3 of the shops in Lake County closed. And of course this couldn't come at a worst time as we leave for Peru this month. What a crappy time to take a vacation! I'm just glad most of it is paid for already.

I know that Cody and I have been blessed and that we are still better off then most people even with him loosing another job, but I'm starting to think that maybe we could loose everything. I'm very angry about the US economy and that all this is happening. We can't even sell our biggest asset - our house - to go find other work in another town because so many people bought homes they couldn't afford, so many banks lent money they shouldn't have.

I know that we did the right thing, we saved our money, we invested smartly for our future, we didn't buy a huge $300,000 dollar home, we paid a huge amount down & have paid over 1/3 of our house off, we bought a small home and we upped it's value (it's still worth way more then when we bought it, we paid taxes, we have no debt except our house & a little bit on one of our cars, and yet we could loose it all because our government can't do it's job & because a lot of dumb corps & dumb banks, & dumb people in the US can't manage their money and they spend more then they should have. Everything that we have worked for could be lost and we can't do a darn thing about it. Already we've lost a ton of money from our IRA's & savings and now our best asset -our home - has become a liability. If we can't rent it out, how can we afford to rent someplace else?

We don't have the money for health insurance now either. If either of us gets sick we could loose all our savings & possibly our house. Both my brother & my sister owe over $40,000 for emergency health fees now. These days I live in fear that Cody or I'll need to ride in an ambulance or helicopter for some stupid accident and end up owing $60,000 or that the bank will call our house loan and we won't have the cash to pay it off.

I know that we will be ok and that my family will always help us, if they can. But it is scary and I am angry. I'm glad for a sense of humor though and that we have shows like SNL to make us laugh at this situation and lighten up this insane time. But I really have my doubts that anything, even the next President, could fix this mess anytime soon. And what are we going to do between now and then? And how much will we loose in the meantime?