What's on your ipod?

Most of the time, my plane travel is mundane (like that vocab?). However once in a while, life throws me a little gem. The following events happened recently while I was flying to Oregon.

I was sitting next to a twenty-something lady. We were both reading and minding our own business. All of a sudden, techno music starts playing loudly in the row behind me. I assumed some teenager was probably behind me was enjoying their music. Being the world traveler that I am, I do not stare or comment on travel issues--I would spend all my travel time upset about something. Crying baby? It happens. Bad smell? It happens. Etc. Etc.

After about 10 minutes of techno without singing, the music transitioned to a techno version of "Don't You Wish Your Girlfriend Was Hot Like Me?" Now, if you are familiar with techno at all, you understand that most techno songs are REALLY long. After about 8 minutes of "Don't You Wish Your Girlfriend Was Hot Like Me," the girl next to me starts to fidget. I look over at her, and our eyes meet. We silently communicate, "Really? How much longer can this possibly go?" I notice the other passengers across the aisle starting to grow restless. I just couldn't help myself. I turned around....to see this guy--headphones on, staring straight at the back of my seat totally oblivious:



I busted out laughing as soon as I turned back around, and so did the girl next to me. I guess he thought his headphones were plugged into his ipod but really the music was playing out loud and not through his head phones.

HILARIOUS. I guess you just never know what is on someone's ipod. I am still laughing as I write this.

P.S. I secretly snapped this photo as we were standing up to deplane because I already knew I had to blog about my techno friend. Sneaky. :)

Deep Thought: Soccer

Deep thoughts by Jack Handey, I mean Lara Jackson.

Okay, I'll share one from Jack:
http://www.deepthoughtsbyjackhandey.com/media.asp?file=150

Now, here's my deep thought. Sorry for the slightly bitter tone, but it's my blog, and I'll be bitter if I want to.

There is a certain group of American males that cannot seem to appreciate the sport of soccer and complain throughout the World Cup on facebook, twitter, etc about it. (I typically picture this group of males grunting while they watch AMERICAN football. You know the ones I'm talking about--they say soccer is boring, too slow, blah, blah, blah. It does not take a genius to figure out that AMERICAN football scores would be lower if each touchdown were not worth 6 points--I think this math may be too difficult though as many of them cannot seem to understand.) If the entire world says that soccer is the best sport, why can they not appreciate it or at least shut up until the World Cup is over? It's not like those of us who like soccer complain throughout the year while football and basketball dominate the sports channels and a lot of network prime time. Needless to say, their ignorance (is that the right word?) bugs me and makes me want to kick a soccer ball at their faces.

Love,
Lara

P.S. Soccer is the most popular youth sport in America.

P.P.S. I bet if the U.S. wins the World Cup, the previously mentioned group of men will be waving the American flag and acting like they actually know what off sides means.

Food so good....

Restaurant review: Tommaso's Italian Restaurant

Yesterday, we ate at one of the best restaurants I have visited in many moons. Tommaso's Italian Restaurant is in a pretty seedy part of North Beach (aka Little Italy) in San Francisco--think many places for adults only nearby. We chose to ignore the surroundings in favor of the rave reviews. I am sooooooo glad we did.

We arrived at ~5:30 on a Sunday evening, and there was already a line out the door. Tommaso's has a pretty small dining room and does not take reservations. So, I recommend you go early to avoid a long wait. We were seated around 6pm, and it was very worth the 1/2 hour standing in a crowded entry. David and I split a small pizza with italian sausage and a bowl of spaghetti with meat sauce. The pizza at Tommaso's has been voted the best in San Francisco multiple times, and it is certainly the best I have tasted--maybe anywhere. You could taste the fresh wood-fired dough, amazing cheese, home made sauce, and mild italian sausage simultaneously. The meat sauce on the spaghetti was rich and had deep flavors...so refreshing in a day when most restaurants dump Preggo on noodles.

Friends, this food was so good, I literally just wanted to stuff it all in my mouth so I could taste it more. I probably won't go anywhere else to eat in Little Italy from now on. A-MAZING.

Check it out: http://tommasos.com

My review? Food so good, it makes you wanna slap yo mama...

Audience of one

Here's to a new page!

Much love,
Lara

The little things matter

So, I have realized that even more than big gestures or expensive gifts, the little things matter. One of the things I love most about people is the little things--those traits or preferences that make them unique and special. My David is perfectly capable of making his own breakfast (eggs, oatmeal, anything), but he really loves it when I make it. I despise stopping to pump gas, so when I get in and my tank is full, I am a very thankful wife.

I think it comes pretty naturally to me to notice the little things about people and remember them for a time when they come in handy like birthdays or random times of celebration. I have realized that I really like to bless people in ways that are meaningful to them. I almost get mad at myself if I give a generic gift (think those stock gifts that every woman has a drawer full of for times of "gift emergency" like an unexpected birthday or a party for someone you do not know well). The little things are important to people because it shows you care and you know them. Those are really two of the intangible things that people want most: to be cared for and to be truly known.

Recently, I arrived home from a work trip to find this:



Some of our friends had been talking about this amazing coffee. David remembered the name of the coffee and ordered it for me to surprise me. Considering the name of my blog, this was a wonderful "you know me" kind of present that makes me smile every morning when I wake up. (It is delicious in case you are a coffee drinker!)

I want to challenge you to remember the little things because they matter.

What am I going to do with my life?

So, it seems like just when I think I have things figured out...like I have laid out some kind of plan for myself, things change. Recently, I really thought I had a plan laid out for the next few years. I thought it was God's plan. Then, a new option came into the mix. I don't know if it's God, and I'm not sure how to know for sure. (Did that make any sense?) Maybe, I had one path decided and thought it was Him, but it was really just my "perfect" plan. What if God has something different that I didn't expect but will grow to love?

I feel like I have two sides to my life/personality/ambitions, and they cannot coexist. Like I'm Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde. One plan for Dr. Jekyll and one plan for Mrs. Hyde.

Sorry that I'm a little vague, but there are just some things that cannot go on a blog that anyone can read.

I know prayer is the answer to my issue, but I feel like on decisions like these I never hear very clearly. Does anyone else have that problem? How do you decide when you have big life choices to make?

A laugh for your Friday

Introduction: I don't deal well with gross-ness. It is a pretty broad category for me. David says that I think everything is gross. That is mostly true. I think a lot of things are gross.

The Story: David went out to run errands a few weeks ago. He took our buhbies (aka puppies) because they love to ride in the car with their daddy. They are very well behaved in the car. I was working from home that day and received a call from David. "Meet me outside in 5 minutes." He would not tell me the reason, so in my mind, I am very hopeful that he has a surprise for me. I meet him outside in great anticipation. He says, "Put Nadia in the back yard." So, I get Nadia out of the back seat and take her to the back yard. Then, I come back to the car and look in the front seat....There sits Chloe (who NEVER gets in the front seat ever). She is surrounded in every direction...by explosive diarrhea. Now, I can not emphasize the quantity and diverse directions of splattering enough. Literally, the back and seat of the passenger side were covered. The dash board, the floor board, and the door...also covered. I just stood there not sure whether to laugh or cry. So, I kind of did both. I took Chloe and put her in the back yard. Then, I proceeded to clean the GROSS-EST mess I have ever seen. After hours of scrubbing by me with David fetching various cleaning items for me, my car appeared clean but still smelled like poo.

I left it over night, and then deep cleaned it a couple of days later to rid the car of all remaining poopy-ness. I am happy to say that everything is now clean and neutral smelling. I still am keeping a towel over the seat because it grosses me out that there was poop on it at one point.

What happened in the car you ask? David said he was driving along when all of a sudden Chloe hopped up into the front seat. This should have been a clue that there was a problem because she NEVER gets in the front. Then with her bottom facing the seat, a high powered spray of explosive diarrhea shot out of her. It was so high powered that it bounced off of the seat and rebounded onto the door, dashboard, and floor. David said he literally just stared because it happened in a matter of 3-5 seconds.

I doubt that there is anything gross-er than this experience. David said that I am ready for kids now...