Life as I knew it

Well, my friends, it is official.  Life as I knew it is OVER!  I used to wake up around 9 or 10 in the am, shower, dress, and head to work.  I would go through the day eating, resting and using the bathroom basically whenever I needed to do so.  Can anyone say, "Not Anymore!"  My life now revolves around the hours available to drive.  We eat when we are done with drivable hours and have to shut down for 10 hours straight.  Can I just ask a question?  Why in the world do truck stops not sell vegetables?  Not of any kind!  I have looked and looked, do they think we don't need them?  Maybe they think nobody would buy them.  Whatever the reason, I miss my veggies!  They do offer fruit though, if you count black bananas and three day old sliced apples.  It has come down to me ordering veggie patty sandwiches at subway to try to get some kind of vegetables and instead of chips I eat the kid sized apple slices.  I also order milk whenever I can because I never know when I will be able to get it again.  I take my multi-vitamin every day, but somehow I still feel cheated out of my veggies.  How is a girl supposed to stay healthy and regular without roughage and veggies?  Which brings me to my next point.  I have learned to use the bathroom EVERY time we stop, just in case we don't stop again for hours.  Now I know most of you don't want to hear about my bathroom adventures but there are some of you that will absolutely laugh out loud at the situations I have found myself in.  Let me just start off by saying I absolutely have no sane judgment once I have to pee so bad I can't see straight.  I have squatted on the side of the road, which isn't so bad, most of us have done it.  I have hovered over the seat in a port-a-potty that I swear hadn't been serviced in twenty-five years.  Again, not so bad, most of you ladies can sympathize.  However, here is where it gets interesting.  I recently found myself sitting on the steps of the truck peeing straight down through the grates, on the side of the freeway, during a traffic jam.  At first I didn't care who saw what, I had to go so bad, but as the urgency was evacuated, I slowly started to realise where I was and exactly how many people could see me.  I quickly cleaned up and climbed back inside the truck, red-faced and ashamed, to face a chuckling Brandyn.  Another time we were parked at a rest stop for a nap, however, when I woke up, the bathrooms were closed and locked.  I know you ladies will appreciate the urgency I was feeling having just woken up and needing to pee, so I did what I thought was best at the time.  I climbed onto the catwalk between the truck and the trailer and I pulled up my dress and I peed.  I didn't bother to look around to see if anyone could see me. that is, until, I was done.  Only then did I notice a truck sitting across the parking lot that could plainly see me in all my glory.  I don't know if anyone was in the truck watching, but I am going to go to my grave believing he was asleep and didn't see a thing.  Now, imagine falling asleep while your husband is driving down the road, no big deal right?  Now imagine you have slept for three and a half hours and before you went to sleep you hadn't used the bathroom in almost six hours.  All I can say is my bladder hurt so bad when I woke up, I thought I was going to have to go to the hospital.  I was frantically searching for a rest stop, or a shoulder to pull out on, a truck stop, or a frikkin' tree, anything so I could pee.  No luck.  we were in the middle of a construction zone and had nowhere to pull off and we were crossing Nevada, so there was nothing out there in the way of an exit.  Brandyn hands me a yellow plastic funnel and a Gatorade bottle with a smile.  All I can say is it is really hard to balance over a funnel and bottle while doing fifty-five in a construction zone, in an eighteen wheeler!  I hope most of you laughed at the state my life is in now, I do every day.  I don't want you to think I am unhappy or sorry that I made this choice, because that couldn't be further from the truth.  I laugh at myself every day and am having a blast trying to figure out this new existence living on the road.  Keep laughing my friends, and as always, Safe Travels!

The Lot Lizard

Today, my friends, I encountered the infamous lot lizard.  The lot lizard is not exactly a reptile, although they are cold blooded.  They are not technically classified as an animal, but they definitely have animalistic behaviour.  These women who are affectionately refered to as lot lizards are, in fact, prostitutes.  They work their way around the truck stop, knocking on doors and hoping for a signal that their services are welcome.  These lot lizards come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.  At first glance, I thought, "Nasty women, they are probably drug addicts and have some disease."  The more I watched them walk around, the more my mind became inquisitive.  What were these women doing here, what happened in their life to bring them to this decision? It was then that I realised that maybe this wasn't even a choice for them, maybe some of them are forced into this life by a boyfriend or husband, or maybe even a family member.  Maybe they are homeless and this is the only way they can make money.  It makes me reflect on my own life, I've been many places in my life and had to make many difficult decisions, I've done things I am not proud of and some things I am even ashamed of. So who am I to say, "I would never..." or judge these women without even knowing them.  I'd like to say that I am a changed person, and that I have stopped judging the lot lizards, but the minute one slithered up to my husbands door and smiled at him, all was lost.  I jumped up out of my seat and wrapped my arms around Brandyn like a possesive   she-beast.  I glared that lot lizard down and let her know she was in my territory, and to get away!  I guess when all is said and done, I am just as much an animal as the lot lizards, at least when it comes to protecting what is mine.  So, until next time, my friends, Safe Travels!

Together Again

Many of you now know that Brandyn has changed companies, so in the meantime I was at home, visiting friends and family and missing my husband so much.  However as of last night, I am reunited with my Brandyn! We are already on our first load from California to Utah. I love being on the road and having the chance to just be with Brandyn.  We have the chance to talk about anything and everything, share our tastes in music, share our love of travel, and a chance to just be still and quiet together.  It has brought us to a level in our relationship that is amazing to us both.  We have known each other for many years, but it's amazing the things you learn about a person when you are together in a confined space twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  I can't tell you how many life stories we have shared, stories that don't really matter, but managed to stay in our memories all these years.  I don't know if it's because life has a way of keeping us busy, or if as humans we try not to get too close, but all these little snippets of memories, these life stories, have made us closer than I ever thought possible.  I feel blessed to be given this rare gift of uninterupted time with my husband and am excited to make new memories living the life of a nomad and sharing them with you.  Until next time friends, Safe Travels!

Apart but ever united...

As many of you know,Brandyn and I were told we would have to be separated for thirty days due to insurance policies at the company he drives for.  I know it sounds petty, especially given the hard life lessons we have already gone through, but I don't want to be without him for even a day.  I hesitate to even share the depth of my emotions right now because our situation could be so much worse, or even permanent.  However, these emotions are real and valid in this moment, so I will give them a voice.  I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest and it is so hard to breathe.  The tears just will not stop falling, no matter how hard I will them to.  How is it possible to feel this connected to another soul?  When I hear his voice on the phone my heart leaps and then plummets because he sounds so near and yet I can't touch him.  I can't feel his presence inside my own.  Some of you will understand my feelings and some of you won't.  I can only say that before Brandyn came into my life and overwhelmed my senses, making me give him all of me, I didn't think that this kind of love existed. So, though we are apart, my love, we are ever, as always, united.

The beginning of our adventure

It was with heavy hearts that we said goodbye to our friends and family, but we looked forward with excitement to this new chapter in our lives.  It's amazing to think that in such a short time your whole life can change so dramatically.  I am afraid, terrified, excited, and hopeful all at the same time.  I like having a routine and a sense of what's coming next, my husband, however, does not.  I like to say that he has itchy feet.  He's always looking for the next adventure.  I love him for this.  I really do, it just seems that I need to stretch my comfort zone a little, as I truly desire to be by his side in everything we do.  Wish us luck and love on this new adventure, as I'm sure it will grow us in ways we never thought possible!