How Many of Me

Thanks to fancythis, I now know how many of me (both old and new) exsist...

First name + Maiden name:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 266 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

First name + married name:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 13 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Santa Fe, NM

So, over President's Day weekend... we lived it up right. On a trip i just dreaded, we went to Santa Fe, NM to go snowboarding. I was terrified. Completely terrified. Yet, after three lessons... I was able to make it down "Easy Street" a few times without falling on my face. It was a great time. I can't wait to go again. I look like a pro (not really). Here are some photos. Have a good hump day, and rest of the week.

11,000 something feet...

On the ski lift... Matt takes good pictures.
I don't take as good pictures...

On the Ski Lift.

I'm totally a snowboarder now.... sort of.

I watched her drown

... as if I was watching myself...

I've felt like vomiting all day. How can so little support come from something so valued... so guaranteed? I'm unsure of its rarity, but it seems to be weaving a very ugly and fine web in my head.

Shit... shit on this day.

Thank God for its close.

every angel is terrifying

She rides the road... streamlined thought process. The mile markers pass, unnoticed. The alternating dashed and solid lines in the center blur. She thinks of unspeakables... she imagines life differently with such unspeakables.

Life with a different mate...

without a mate...

Why must she ponder such shit? Life is no where near unbearable... but restless somewhere in a cloudy tolerable. A peak of her reflection reveals a distant scar on her pupil... which is quickly ignored with a blink. Long has she pondered its approximate appearance, but never found an answer... nor a reason. She chooses to ignore her weakness...

"Fleeting moments in life just seems to show up," she says... to no one. "And disappear just as mysteriously, and expectantly." As if He, hears.

She approaches life with certain torturous expectation.

"Mine is a life of turmoil," she thinks out loud.

She hits the yellow line dividing directions of a two lane highway, and realizes... she has no memory of the last five miles.

She has no choice... it seems. She likes being certain, but Life prefers uncertainty.

Almost home. A reason to rejoice.

"Tonight"

I love this song. I'm unsure the reason, but it makes me warm. It's a beautiful song... even if you aren't a country music fan. The melancholy lyrics are of comfort... comfort in "the wrong", feeling strangely right. There's something to behold in all its fault... a human being.

"Tonight"- Sara Evans
If I had a weakness
You sure found it tonight
Some hidden desperation
You saw floatin' in my eyes
Moments just like these baby
Wrong can feel so right
And I don't wanna go home tonight
I've held it all together
As long as I can
There's pieces of me fallin'
Right into your hands
And don't the lies come easy baby
When the truth just ain't worth the fight
No I, I don't wanna go home tonight

[Chorus]
So lay me down easy
And hold on tight
And tell me I'm the only one you see tonight
Lonely woman, lonely man
There's just some things only lonely understands

I might be just a sinner
Who wants to be a saint
One justifies the reason
Oh, one understands the pain
And I don't know what's wrong baby
And I sure don't know what's right
But I don't wanna go home tonight

[Chorus]
Click here to hear the song: http://www.saraevans.com/pages/music/restless.htm

Pictures

Well... well... welll... I'm an ARtist!

Here it is! The outside is made from the back of Matt's BDU top.

Some pictures of the inside; two shirt pockets from the top of Matt's old BDUs.

The tag says, "Handmade by: ", and I'll put my name in. The lining is a very pretty yellow. It matches well.

Show and tell is over.

Sewing machine madness & Nike+iPod

About... let's say four months ago, my mother-in-law bought me a sewing machine. I wanted it... so, she bought me one. She's good like that...

Anyway, the presence of its "nobs-o-plenty", plugs, pedals, and bobbins galore had successfully intimidated me... that is, of course, until today. I bought a pattern... tons of fabric, thread, needles, and pins, and I just went at it. It took me about an hour to locate a manual online (I lost mine), and then another 30 or so minutes to thread the damn bobbin, but after I successfully stitched together the outside part of the bag... I was psyched (enough to walk across the street barefoot to show my neighbor)!

So, after a long day of bending over the machine of a million stitch designs, I have produced a messenger bag. It was quite an undertaking for a beginner such as myself. But, I must say, I've done quite a job. The best part, you ask? Well, a pretty yellow lining, and one of husband's old BDU (battle dress uniform or better known as fatigues) sets constructs the piece.

Pictures soon.

Next, as the title indicates.. Nike+iPod is a really cool (also really expensive way) to track your running/jogging workouts. What is needed: iPod Nano (any generation), Nike+ shoes, Nike+iPod transmitter/receiver kit. The kit is only about $30, but to get a decent pair of shoes you have to spend at least $ 90. Then, there's the Nano. The cheapest one bought new would be the 2GB,and I believe it runs about $150.00. Luckily, I got most of that for Christmas. :)

So, a small transmitter fits beneath the left shoe of the Nike+ shoe (already cut out holes)... and the receiver goes into the port at the bottom of the Nano. It tracks your pace, distance, and calories burned (based on weight). It doesn't do heart rate... which is probably already in the works. It has male or female voice encouragement (so they call it; all she/he really does is give you a progress update... pace, distance left, etc.). After loading your workouts up to www.nikeplus.com , it displays your whole run on a grid (sort of)... showing you where you slowed down, sped up, etc. Today, I could point out on the grid exactly where the wind started to pick up. It's pretty sweet, and makes me want to run farther each day... and, well that's because the other day when I completed my longest workout today (using the Nike+ system), Lance Armstrong congratulated me! Seriously, here I am, huffing and puffing, and in my ear I hear, "Hi, this is Lance Armstrong. Congratulations, you've just completed your longest workout yet!" It was cool. I'm waiting to see who will congratulate me next... that's a tough one to beat.

If you are interested, I'm "MrsMcGraw" on nikeplus.com. I think you can see my stats.

Idiots, please raise your hand so I can see you... clearly.

*Vanessa raises hand*

So, we just finally got into the Netflix thing... and, well, we got our first movie... watched it... then, I got all excited... ohhhhhh, let's pop it in the mail now so we can get another movie! WOO HOO!

That would be great and all... if I hadn't put the wrong damn DVD in the return envelope.

*Vanessa lowers hand in shame*

Nature took a shower.

Last night, I slept with the Rain. Its patter beating an open window and cool breath tickling my nose. I had the most peaceful sleep of these weeks past. Although, husband was not here, and the bed is not my own, I was still calm. I did not wake to use the restroom or toss and turn in search of comfort. I just slept.

Yet, once again... I find myself missing husband. Longing for his weight opposite my side. Dreaming of his heavy breath at my back... or in my face. It is a sweeter sort of missing. For he is not 7,000 something miles away... only 600. Still in the same state... still in my calling network. I can pester him all day with questions, I love yous, or just listen to him breath as he watches TV. Or, as I have done, I can imagine him in his habitat... OUR habitat... searching for something easy to eat, playing with Zora, or just reading... in OUR bed. Although, I'd rather be home, this feeling of sweet longing is just fine for now.

In the daylight, as I close the window, the remains of last night's water still lay on the seal, resisting overwash by today's continuing downpour.

Time doesn't fly... it travels at mach 3.

Hello everyone... I've been gone. I know... forever. I'm sure all two of you are very disappointed. Anyway... The past month has been more than hectic. Where shall I begin my story? I'll start with Dec. 19... the last night I spent at home, comfortable.

Matthew and I left home Dec. 20 for Austin. We stayed at my friend's house... for this sake, we'll call her "E". We left our loving puppy, Zora, in her stead. The next morning we got on a plane and headed for Maryland. The weather was mild, and the company was good. We stayed mostly with K, Matt's mommy. Christmas was pleasant, and the gifts were generous. (Matt gave me an iPod Nano 8G... woo hoo). Jessica made a wonderful dinner of Cornish game hens, sweet potatoes (as well as regular potatoes), bread, green beans, and caramel pie. I don't have any pictures of this yet... I forgot my camera. Curses.

Matt got a gift card for Nike+ shoes, and the kit. For those of you unfamiliar with Nike+... Here's a quick breakdown.
You need: Nike+ shoes, Nike+ iPod kit, and an iPod nano.
How it works: A microchip transmitter goes underneath the sole of your Nike+ shoe (it's got a special cut out for it), and the receiver goes into the bottom of your iPod nano... this tracks your running or walking pace, distance, and time. At the end of your workout you can load your info up to nikeplus.com, and basically keep a running log without really having to do anything except run. It's pretty cool. I've got the same set up.

Hopefully, this will improve my running speed, and efficiency.

Well... while we were in Maryland, we decided to visit the capitol, Annapolis (you know the movie with the extra hottie)... anyway, we went to the capitol building:

MattHere's the back of the Capitol.I'm there.... look closer.... no, closer!
And here's their pretty Christmas Tree.And, we spent some time overlooking the Chesapeake Bay:
Matt again
And me.Then, we visited the Naval Academy... it was pretty cool. Here are a few pictures:
A giant anchor.
A sunset over a football field (one of many).
Me on the campus.

So, that brings us up to Dec. 29... We are headed for Minnesota now!

First, our original flight out of Baltimore was canceled... and we rerouted. We had only 50 minutes to make the 30 minute drive to the airport, and deal with a rude counter person, get through security, and to our plane. Luckily, we made it just in time. We flew on one of those planes that only has two seats on one side, and one on the other... the whole way to Minneapolis. Scary. It was cool though. We made it okay.

We stayed in Minneapolis that night, and headed for Hastings, MN, for the annual McGraw Holiday Party. The theme was "Red, White, and Blue" in honor of several of Matt's uncles serving in the Armed Forces, and Matt's return home to the states. Here are a few pictures from that (Matt has a huge family... his Dad is one of 12).

Uncle Greg and Matthew.
Uncle Mick and me, and Uncle Marc in the back.
Cousin Danny, Uncle Mick, Aunt Marj, and Emily (Danny's to-be bride).
Many of the aunts.
I look drunk... but I'm really not.
Conga line with some aunts and second cousins.
Some uncles and one cousinn.
So, I was drinking a little.
Aunt Katy and Matthew.

So, that's all the pictures I have of that. The next day we drove down to Mankato, MN. It was snowing like crazy. That night Mankato got 10 inches of snow. It was crazy! Here are a few pictures from the drive:

We spent one day sledding, and many other days relaxing. One day I was really sick, and didn't leave the house... or bed for that matter. But, all in all it was fun. Here are some pictures:

My borrowed snow get-up.

Being silly.

Being sillier.

Being silliest.

Pretty half-frozen pond.

Hey, the clothes aren't all mine, alright?

Here I go...

There I went... eating snow.

Matt, face first... brave.

Some of my camera work.

More.

Me and Matthew with a frozen lake behind us.Here are some more pictures from family gatherings.
Me and Blake. He loved me. Matt was jealous. I was planning on keeping track of how many times someone asked, "Are you pregnant?" or "When are you two having kids?"

Us and Grandpa, the icon of the family.
Uncle Steve, Matt, and Grandpa.
Blake.

After this... we headed home... where our luck began. We arrived home to an anxious dog, and a flat tire. We spent two hours waiting for our flat to be fixed; we had a nail in the tire. We then, drove to the kennel to drop off our doggie... poor baby, and then made the rest of the way home to our house. We spent one night at home, and drove to El Paso to see my mom, grandparents, and my sister and her family. This would be great... if I hadn't broke a tooth.

Then, the day after we got here, we were rear-ended. The bumper is smashed, and muffler beyond repair. We never saw the guy who hit us... it was rush hour traffic, and he/she/it rushed away. So, Matt made his way home this past Saturday (sort of... it took him 12 hours), and I'm still in El Paso, waiting for our car to be repaired so I can drive home... alone.

Now, with my tooth... apparently... it was already weak, and needed a root canal, which I got yesterday. I'm just stuck here. I'm drying out because it's so darn dry here.

But, that's the end... Anyway, I'll catch up on your blogs just as soon as I can.

Have a lovely week!