An Excerpt From My Story.

Here's the intro to the story I'm writing. Let me know what you think, suggestions, ideas, anything.

Terri perched at the top of the snowy slope and looked down. It was steep. And long. She could see tiny figures moving around near the bottom. For the moment, no one else was at the top of the hill with her. But that wouldn’t last long. This slope was a popular spot for snowboarders, being the closest place to the little town of Ayers where Terri lived. She reached down and tightened her bindings another notch, then flexed her board with her feet to check the security and feel. Terri rode with her right foot first, unlike most boarders. She felt more comfortable that way. Standing back up, she checked her goggles fit and palmed the top of her helmet. Everything felt right. She took a breath and looked down the slope again. Time to go. She shifted her weight and hopped a little with the board to get going. The snow started spraying around her as she picked up speed, making easy turns back and forth to control her descent. Terri glanced up at the sky and spread her arms out for balance. If felt so wonderful. The rush of air around her. The feeling of total freedom. Her board made her feel almost weightless as it glided through the snow. She wound her way around a few sparse trees and headed down the last stretch, focusing on her technique. Glancing at the people watching her at the end of the hill, she easily spotted Jake. He was grinning up at her. She could even make out his spikey brown hair. The weather was fairly warm and he wasn’t wearing his hat anymore. She started slowing down as she neared the end and stopped just a few feet from him.
“Congratulations!” he yelled as he ran up to her, beaming. “Your first run down the Slope! You were great!” He gave her a high five. Jake had taught her how to ride a snowboard only a few weeks ago. She had ridden down some of the smaller hills on their tiny mountain, but this was her first time down the steepest part, what the locals commonly referred to as “the Slope”.
Terri breathed hard, both from the exertion and the excitement. “Thanks,” she smiled at him. Pulling her helmet off, she shook her dark hair around. Then she bent down and started un-strapping her feet.
Jake took her board from her when she got it off and looked at her intently. Then he leaned in close to her face and paused for a moment before giving her a brief kiss on the mouth. “I love you babe,” he whispered, sending Terri’s heart into a flutter. She could feel her pulse speeding up and tried to keep her breathing controlled. Jake noticed anyway, and gave her a quiet laugh. Then he caught her hand and pulled her towards the parking lot. She noticed he had already stowed his board in the back of his Ford pickup when they walked up to it. He laid her board with his then opened a cooler in the back of his truck.
“Time to celebrate!” he grinned as he handed her a Red Bull and pulled one out for himself. He took a sip then asked. “So, how’d it feel?”
Terri took a small taste of her drink and looked back up the slope. “It felt like flying.”

The Vampires that live Upstairs....

Ok, so I've got some freaky neighbors. They live right above me and they make an awful lot of noise! It's two guys who share the apartment, and no it's not like that. Every night we get to hear a sample of their fine taste in music. If it's not a girly pop song, then it's heavy metal or some kind of rap. Mostly I just hear the beat. Then their dog starts. Actually, it only belongs to one of them cause when that guy is gone, his roommate doesn't let the dog inside! It stays out on the porch and whines. But when it's been inside by itself for a while and they come home, then it gets all excited and barks and whimpers and runs laps around the apartment. Then they start yelling at it and tripping over it. They both seem to have crazy schedules. They will be gone for hours, then come home for about 30 minutes, then leave again. Then they'll return about 15 minutes later. Maybe they're drug-dealing Vampires. Oh, the Vampire thing? Not really sure how that got started. We just one day decided that's what they must be cause of their weird nocturnal hours. They're very active at night. The only time I have heard them up in the morning was when one of them got up and put some laundry in at 6 in the freakin morning!!! They also have an insane laundry fetish. I don't get why two single guys have to do 2-3 loads of laundry a day!!! And I'm not exaggerating! Their stupid washer is right above my bedroom! I hear it running every day! What on earth could any sane person need to do that much washing for?!! It's ridiculous! Maybe they're messy Vampires.... One of the guys (the only one who currently has a vehicle) works at Gamestop and pretends not to recognize us when we come in the store. Not kidding. The other one has a woman that shows up every couple of days with a kid to see him. She either spends just a few minutes inside before leaving in a hurry, or they both go downstairs and sit in her car and argue for an hour before she finally leaves. Anyway, we're plotting our revenge. Either some cleverly planted speakers in the ceiling blasting Disney songs at predetermined hours, or the cat's litter box carefully positioned in the floor beneath their beds!

Cat versus the Chinese Checkers Board

Just thought I'd share a funny story that happened a few weeks ago to my cat. It was a Saturday night and Cody and I were over by the computer looking at something. We had the Chinese checkers game in its box under our coffee table because we had played it just the other day. We knew the cats were pretty interested in it. They would crouch on the floor next to it and wap the corner with a paw. Then their eyes would get all wide at the fascinating sound that came from the box (you know, the marbles rolling around). So anyways, Hunter, my quiet, anxiety-stricken kitty was playing with the box. As I said, Cody and I were looking at the computer and not paying attention. All of a sudden, there was a loud commotion and we both looked back just in time to see Hunter running across the couch with the Chinese checkers board chasing after him! It was right up against his back leg and he was TERRIFIED!!! It looked hilarious!! He ran a few more erratic laps before it finally gave up and then he went and hid in the spare room. Once I saw what was really going on, I could not stop laughing! You know how those boards have all the little holes in them? Well, apparently he got the edge of the lid off the box and was fishing around in there with his paw trying to find the source of that interesting noise (I'm sure he thought it was a big fat mouse) . And that hole is the perfect size for a kitty claw! I'm not sure how the board got transfered from his front paw to his back paw, but it did. Maybe in his frenzied attempt to escape the horrible Chinese checkers board of DEATH!!!! Haha! It was definately one of those moments when you wish you had a video camera permanently duct-taped to your face! Lol! Good times, good times....

Me Too! Me Too!

Ok, so I can't let everyone else have all the fun anymore. I too must join the ranks of the brave bloggers. For too long I have read the rantings and ramblings of others (namely Steph and Deb) and longed in my heart to commit my wayward thoughts to the scared pages of the internet as well. So here I am! Look out web wanderers!

Ok, ok. That got a little weird. But I am excited about this whole blogging thing. I've really enjoyed reading the fun little stories and insights others have written. And I hope that I can encourage them to keep writing. And stick to it myself.

So thanks, Steph and Deb for the inspiration you've been to me! (tear) =p Love you guys!!!

Later dudes!