Let it ring.....

There is not one single morning that arrives in my life when I don’t thank the Lord that I woke up an American. And I know that seems cheesy, and you probably think, ‘Yeah, sure, not one SINGLE morning, right.’ It’s true, though.

I wake up to the sun or the snow or the rain outside my window and just smile. The window that holds so much possibility for me. So much waiting for me out there, every morning. Just blows me away that today; today, I can do what I want, when I want to, any way I want to do it. It’s all up to me. Sometimes, it’s simply overwhelming.

Freedom.

My freedom.

Even as I sit and write this, I can’t believe what a lucky girl I am. To live in a country where so many people have given so much for a silly putz like me.

So, this Memorial Day, I thank all of you, at least the ones that I can, which have made my freedom possible. I owe every ounce of my life I have to you. And know, that even as I choose to do whatever I want today, I’m carrying you in my heart, thanking you with every decision I make in my own pursuit of happiness.

I love my Jeep, I LOVE my JEEP!!

After spending two straight weeks in Moab, Utah, I’ve discovered something about myself. I don’t want a rockcrawler.

I know it seems strange to hear a girl like me say she doesn’t want a rockcrawler. The American dream tends to dictate to us that we need bigger, better, something to work toward. And I do want bigger and better, but not 40-inch tire bigger. I don’t need a rig that can drive up Mt. Everest. I spent my first week in Moab with my good friend, Justin. Justin has put his heart and soul (not to mention a lot of work, and time, and money) into his 1971 Toyota LandCruiser. It’s got the 40-inch tires, the Detroit locker, the 35-spline axles, the Atlas transfer case, the bead locks, the ARB air lockers, all the bells and whistles Jeepers (ahem, excuse me, wheelers) dream about. And it performs as expected. It will climb over everything. And when it doesn’t just climb over an obstacle, you’re left with a vast feeling of disappointment. Now, Justin is going to kill me if he reads this, but he needs to understand I respect and admire the work and effort that has gone into building his rig. And he needs to accept the fact that I just don’t want one. I want a Jeep that’s street-legal in Utah. 35-inch tires, front and rear lockers and that’s it. It want to keep the challenge in wheeling.

Which is why I love my Jeep. Tee hee. It seems that every time I take her out wheelin, she surprises me. It’s the same cycle every single time. I forget how awesome Lil Red can wheel, because she doesn’t have much power on the freeway getting me to wherever we’re going. But as soon as I get her off the road, and on the trail, and put her in 4-wheel drive, something in the Jeep, and in me, just clicks. I’ll pull up to a rock, a ledge, a something that just doesn’t look like it can be conquered, doesn’t seem like Lil Red will be able to climb over. “Well, we’ll see,” I think to myself as I square up, pick a line, and give it whirl. And nine times out of ten, that Jeep just kicks ass. She’ll climb up and over and through things that I have my doubts about.

And then I laugh like a fool for 20 minutes. I love my Jeep!