Yellowstone is Incredible!

To be completely honest with you, I wasn't that excited to go to Yellowstone National Park. I like some forms of camping, but I'm kind of prissy. I like to have certain things available to me at all times, like a shower, a toilet, water to wash my face; you know the basic essentials. But we stayed in West Yellowstone in some what of a ghetto spot - a motel parking lot's RV hookup area. We had showers, and bathrooms, and running water. As odd as that sounds, that was very pleasing and I didn't complain.

Another reason I wasn't thrilled about going to Yellowstone was because it's Yellowstone, I live close, and I could go anytime. I like to go on vacations some place far and see new things. After getting there though, my mind changed and I kind of felt like an ass for thinking that. Yellowstone is worth a trip, anytime. It is one of those places I could go to more than once. We saw so many things while we were there that (from what I hear) not many people get to see. 

This first picture is Old Faithful. We sat and waited for probably 30 minutes for this big geyser to go off and when it did, we were NOT disappointed. I've heard that the size of the eruption isn't what it used to be but I will tell you this, it is still impressive! I took about 100 pictures of the eruption and I think we deleted half. I went snap crazy! 

While we were there, there was a meteor shower. So Rob and I decided we would go see if we could get some rad pictures. Well, this is quite the story. We loaded up the car with the camera, our guns, and some very warm clothes. We drove down the highway and pulled off on a dirt road. We drove down the dirt road for about 1/2 mile and saw what looked like a power building, electric building. I'm not really sure what to describe it as other than a big building with a chain link fence the size they put around prisons with barbed wire on top around the building. Here we decided to turn left. We drove down this road, Power Line Road, for about a mile and decided to park. 

It was definitely in the middle of the forest! It was pitch black when we got out of the car. We put a blanket on the hood of the car and then Rob pulled the camera out and started changing the settings to take pictures of the shooting stars. 

About 20 minutes later, the camera was all set up, taking pictures for 30 seconds every 30 seconds, and I thought I heard leaves crunching nearby; so I asked "Did you hear that?" He had not heard it but asked if I wanted to get in the car and I said no. We're sitting there, watching the shooting stars, hoping the camera is capturing some of what we could see and then I heard it again. I repeated my question, "Did you hear that this time?" Rob said, "Yeah, should we get in the car?" I said, "Hell yeah." So we threw everything in the car except for the camera and we're sitting there listening to the sounds around us and we heard footsteps louder and closer. 

Rob pulled the camera in the car and he realized we forgot a flashlight, so we couldn't see where the noise was coming from, we could only hear it, and we both knew it was a big, hungry animal (or maybe a serial killer). All we had was our guns to shoot at whatever it was and that was too risky. So I stated the obvious, "We should leave." 

We drove back down Power Line Road and parked in front of the fenced off building trying to decide whether or not we're going to set up shop here. Well, we had not even turned the car off and we heard loud, stomping steps on the dirt somewhere around the car. "We should probably get out of here. That could have been a moose or big foot." So we turned the car around and headed for the highway.

After all of this, we did drive around for a bit trying to find a spot to set the camera up to get the meteor shower, but we weren't successful. We found the airport in West Yellowstone and probably saw Dee Snider's jet there. We saw him the next morning at a restaurant; he was sitting 2 tables away having breakfast with his family. But back to the story I was on. After not finding a good location, we went back to camp. Here is a picture of the Big Dipper that we captured. Or I should said Rob captured. 

Oh buffalo, they roam...and they stampede...and they cause road blocks. And yet, even though they are silly  and stupid, I still find them cute. After our trip, Rob said he hates buffalo and hopes to never see another one again. We were stuck in two traffic jams that were directed by the buffalo. They acted as if they were in charge, and they were. 

We went to Earthquake Lake which is west of Yellowstone. The next few pictures are from this place. I believe it was in the 1960s, people were camping down in this valley, which is a gorgeous area. At 11 PM, there was an earthquake, and shortly after, all the water from the lake above the valley came rushing through the area and drowned the people camping below. It's a tragic story and one that would make a person sad to visit this place. But it was beautiful and was really interesting to see what Mother Earth does. 

One day we were gone for a very long time. We drove to Cody, Wyoming then up to Cooke City, Montana, and back down to West Yellowstone. Getting up ridiculously early on my vacation made me very grumpy, but we did get some cool pictures. Can you see the wolf in this picture? 

Everyone needs a pictures with the Yellowstone sign. This was my attempt at planking but as you can tell, I was not successful. 

On our way back into the park, I spotted these bears and told Rob to pull over. He thought I was nuts because you couldn't really tell from a distance what the animals were, but there are definitely black bears. 

Here is a pretty coyote. 

We drove up to Mammoth Hot Springs. The town was really cute. Whether it was the heat or being tired, we weren't that impressed with the area. It was very crowded and very hot, so that could have played a factor in our feelings for this place. 

After Mammoth, we went to Norris. Norris was awesome. I think we were there for several hours and we still didn't see everything there. This place was like visiting another planet, it was unreal and incredible. 

We did go to Upper Falls but didn't realize we were there. When we went to the Lower Falls on the last day of our trip, we realized we had went to Upper Falls on our first full day in Yellowstone. But to be honest Lower Falls is WAY more impressive. This was such a beautiful area. We did a strenuous hike down 300 or something stairs to get close to the Falls and one of the pictures below is us on the stairs near the Falls. A true beauty of nature. 

We went to Biscuit Basin twice. This was a neat area and the walk around the geysers and pools is very short. The reason why we went back is there is a hike to Mystic Falls behind the Biscuit Basin area and the first time we went here I had sandals on which are not hiking shoes, so I made it a point to stress I wanted to go back to do the hike. We completed this short hike to see the waterfall and I think we felt like this was a great way to end the trip. It was a nice hike and if we go back, I would love to do more hiking to places like Mystic Falls. 

This about sums up our trip. We saw so much and we did a lot. I think we probably have 500+ pictures and there are more stories I could have shared but didn't for the sake of space. I highly recommend taking a trip to Yellowstone at least once in your life. It is one of those places that reminds you of the beauty of nature and why it's important to take care of our planet. I love it here and hope we do return in the future. 

Whoa! Now that was a time out!

It has been way too long since my last post. I think I just got sucked up by life and forgot how much I enjoy sharing here. My dear friends Ferren and Natalie brought me back with the slightest encouragement. 

Since last winter, not much has changed in my life, at least not my daily routines. But I have done a lot. I graduated from SLCC in May with an AS in Sociology. I was accepted at the University of Utah and started there in August. Starting school at the U was very intimidating. As I got going into the Fall semester I found that it was very enjoyable, the professors are so full of knowledge and they don't lecture straight from the book. Hence, it is very important to be there for every single class or you miss valuable information. I was worried I was going to struggle too. SLCC  was my comfort zone. I had it all figured out there. I knew how their systems worked and I knew what was expected of me as a student there. It isn't like that for me yet at the U, but I'm sure in time it will be. I'm going to be dead honest though, the U of U is harder, takes a lot more time, can be frustrating, but the education is very good. I'm happy to be attending school there even though I'm kind of burned out. Oh well, only 2 more years after this semester and I'll be done...maybe.

When I graduated in May, I felt very bored at first. I didn't know what to do with myself. Cleaning really didn't sound all that entertaining and so I decided to start reading books I love again. Since I started school a few years ago, I find it very hard to make time to read the things I enjoy reading. I found this website called Goodreads.com and signed up; it's basically social networking for readers. I really like this site. I challenged myself to read 10 books by the time summer was over. And you know what...I DID IT! It was nice to set that challenge for myself, then complete it, and it reignited my fire for reading all over again. I'm a bookworm at heart. If I could read books all day, every day I think I would be very satisfied with life. 

Another thing we did this summer was finish our patio. Okay, it's still not 100% done but we're close. I would say 95% done. I really should post pictures, and maybe I will tomorrow. This was so much work and it's such a relief to have it done. Some might ask why we didn't finish the bathroom first. But my response to this is this, "I like barbecues, I like sitting outside reading books and drinking wine, I like having an escape from the world; and having the patio done creates an oasis for me to enjoy the things I love and get a piece of mind." It's simple really. And now I won't have to clean Moose's paws every time I let him in from the winter cold this year. Thank goodness to no more mud being tracked everywhere! Hopefully we will finish the bathroom this Christmas break. It's been a year and a half since we ripped it out and it is time we get it done. Cross your fingers for us! 

Trips this year! ...

We went to Texas to visit my dad in July. That trip was very hard. It is always good to see your parents after a long time. You don't realize the value of the relationship in your life until it's not there on a daily basis. I haven't really had either of my parents 100% present in my life since I was 17 or so and I think not having them being an active part of my life forced me to grow up and view relationships differently. But I'm biased to my own views, so what do I know. Anyway back to Texas. We were only there a few days but we did drive down by the coast, which was nice, especially because the breeze was so welcomed. One day, we went to downtown Galveston to see an old ship which also had a museum about the area; the museum was mostly nice because it was air conditioned and allowed us to escape sweating profusely and stinking like transients. We then walked around, found some ice cream which melted way faster than we would have liked. We also found a Wiccan store...I think that's what it was. Basically it has essential oils, natural remedies, witchcraft stuff, religion stuff, and the like. It smelled really good in there, I can still smell the incense of the store, a musky but sweet scent, probably had some rosemary mixed in with lavender. I know it's not something my readers are interested in, but I found this store to be very interesting. It's a totally different perspective on the mundane beliefs of typical society. Then we walked further down the street and saw a street chessboard, which was really cool. If I knew how to play chess I would've made Rob play with me, but I don't and neither does he. Next we went to the pirate museum and a silly haunted house about the hurricane that swept through in the early 1900s. Another day we barbecued frog legs, alligator, and stuffed jalapenos. I really love food. And on the last day, we went to the beach. The water was so warm I didn't want to get out. I really love going to the beach, I feel so connected with everything when I'm there. I don't know how to explain it. Besides the things we did there, the trip had an emotional side to it. Maybe I'll post that another time because this is already a very lonnnnnng post. 

In August, we went to Yellowstone. I had never been to Yellowstone before but I was really looking forward to this. It was a fantastic trip. I think this is also another trip that deserves its own post not just because I want to elaborate about the things we did there, but I want to show you some of the pictures. Yellowstone is truly one of the most beautiful places I've been. It's very peaceful and I definitely want to go back. Maybe not for a whole week, but at least 4 days.

In September, we went to Virginia to watch the Antares rocket launch. This was for Rob's work and I'm so proud of him. He didn't work on this particular rocket, but the next one launching in December he worked on the stage 2 rocket motor part of the rocket. Is it safe to say I married a rocket scientist? Anyway, this launch was incredible. It's difficult for me to explain the excitement and the feelings I have about it because I don't know what to compare it to. I'm definitely proud but I'm in awe that man has envisioned something so great and then made it happen. Science is cool. I don't care what you think, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. This is also another trip worthy of it's own post so I can share the video and some pictures. 

It is now October and we are in the middle of the semester. Our time is spent working, going to class, doing homework, and then hitting repeat. My daily life is a little different from Rob's but for the most part, we are very boring right now. We do have another weekend trip planned though. We will be going to Flaming Gorge again this winter and I'm so looking forward to this. I love going up there in the winter because it's very peaceful and serene, I highly recommend this place for romantic getaways.

Other awesome things I did this year: Our Susan G. Komen 5K Race for the Cure team raised over $4,000 this year and had 30 members. This was so satisfying and I feel the 5K was a success! Hopefully we can keep up the momentum next year. I did a 5K with one of my besties, Ferren, in June. The Color Me Rad was very rad and I hope we do it again next year. Ferren could run the whole race but she's so nice, she slowed her pace to help me out. I completed 3 more 5Ks since then - The Glo Run, The Electric Run, and The Witches Brew HaHa. I think it's safe to say I'm hooked on 5Ks. I'm not a strong runner but these events are very gratifying. Maybe next year I can do a 10K. Guess I better make time for exercising this winter. 

Alright, I think this is a long enough post for now. I gave you a brief run down of the year so far and it's not over yet. I think that some of the events listed deserve their own posts, but that will take me a little time to do. I have missed you all and hope to be back more frequently. 

XOXO, 
Miss Lissa 

Thanksgiving throughout November - Day 27

Today I'm really thankful for good teachers. Sometimes it seems they are hard to come across and truth be told, they probably are.

 

At the beginning of the semester I wasn't too sure about one of my teachers. But as the semester went on, my opinion completely changed. My teacher has shown to be supportive, responsive, insightful, and encouraging. I received two very kind emails from him today which totally made me feel reassured that I am a good student and that it doesn't go unnoticed. So today, I'm really thankful for the teachers like him that make going to school enjoyable.

Thanksgiving throughout November - Day 26

As we near the end of the month, you would think that it would become harder to find things to be thankful for. But I'm finding through this challenge that it's becoming easier. I'm thinking more often about the things I'm thankful for rather than the things I'm not thankful for. That's one thing I can definitely be thankful for. But that is not what today's key point is. Today's thought, I'm really thankful for my education and (for now) the path I have taken with it.

 

Right now I'm studying Sociology, and to narrow that down, I'm taking a Race and Ethnicity course. I wasn't really sure what to expect out of this class but now that it's almost over I can honestly say that I've gotten so much out of it. This class has really opened my eyes to the reality of racial issues and to different cultures. I thought I knew before what was really going on and really I was so ignorant and blind by what's really going on, it actually made me sad. But then I realized I should be thankful ... I am thankful that I am seeing more clearly now the history of the races in America and around the globe. There are feelings of disappointment and disgust in learning about it, but I'm also seeing real human courage and strength to get what is rightfully theirs because we each have the right to have a good, prosperous, fruitful life. The stories of the people who have stood up to the face of racism are encouraging and bring hope that change is possible.

 

One of the books I read for this class is called Race Matters, by Cornel West. In all honesty, this was not the book I wanted to read. I was kind of left scrambling for a book and this was the only one the bookstore had. So I bought it with a cringe. After reading it and being a little confused by some of it and reading my text book I feel almost enlightened. My opinions on racial issues are growing. I can't say they are changing because I don't think I really had any to begin with, at least not educated ones. The book is not that easy to read, I had to keep a dictionary up online so I could quickly look up words I didn't know, but when I understood the context, the thoughts of the issues and what needs to be done or what can be done rushed in.

 

Even though there are so many social issues in this country, we are so lucky here that we are trying to move forward to a position of mankind equality where we see each other on an equal playing field. I can only hope that in my lifetime we are closer to this dream than ever before.

 

I am genuinely thankful I have the opportunity to expand my mind in areas like this so I'm not just another ignorant person and that maybe one day I can be a part of the change.

 

Thanksgiving throughout November - Day 25

ONE MONTH UNTIL CHRISTMAS! WOO HOO! Okay, I'm really not that excited but I thought my readers my be. Today I want to say I am so utterly thankful for Barnes and Nobles having a "reserve your book" option online. This option allows you to search their store, see what store has the book, show the closest location, and then say "yes, please hold that for me." I was so happy about this because I had to get another book for school today and it was so nice to look it up online, see that it was at my local B&N, go down there, purchase it, and be home within a half an hour. This saved me so much time today and the headache of having to run around looking for it or even just calling some stores for it. Thank you B&N for being technologically savvy and having stuff like this for those of us who don't always have time to piddle paddle with the flow of life.

Thanksgiving throughout November - Day 24

Wow, only a few more days of November. I need like one more week added to this month to accomplish all the stuff I need to get done. But since that won't happen, I'll just have to spend every waking hour that I'm not at work, in class, or ... well just those two things, doing homework in order to get it all done. I did get my book report done today and I'm so happy about that. That was two full days of reading and writing that sucker and now it's submitted. Only a few more big projects and tests to do ... plus multiple assignments.

 

Anyway, back to what I'm thankful for. I slept in today. Yes, that's right ... I slept in very late today. I needed it. And you know who slept next to me the entire time? My pain in the ass, super beautiful, and loving Ava. I'm thankful for my cats. They definitely drive me crazy and some days I just want to be rid of them. But truthfully, days like today when I was in bed and she was cuddling makes me want to figure out what her problem is so I can just love her. And Taj too. They are so funny. Taj was following me around a little bit earlier today which made me laugh because he was almost acting like a small dog. And then Ava has been really affectionate all day. She even came to sit on my lap while I studied. She doesn't normally do that so to have her be loving really means a lot. She is so soft and getting so fat, and I love it. Yep, today I'm really thankful that I have two pain in the rear, absolutely adorable, semi-psychotic cats.

Thanksgiving throughout November - Day 23

Okay, so this week, as you can tell, I keep posting later than I should be. Sorry about that. But I'm still posting which is good. Sticking with the commitment.

 

Yesterday was seriously a very long day. From the moment I got up, I started studying. I studied for nearly 12 hours straight yesterday. My brain is definitely on overdrive right now. And you know, for yesterday being so boring, I can think of one thing I really love and that I'm thankful for. I love science! Without science, so much wouldn't be possible and so much wouldn't be understood. What got me to that thought, well I've had the thought hundreds of times, but for yesterday, it was when I was doing my Natural Disasters homework. I was reading about wildfires. I'm not really a pyromaniac but reading about how a wildfire starts to when it goes out and what it provides to this earth was pretty cool. Although wildfires seem horrible, and they totally put people in danger, they are part of the earth's cycle, the earth's way of creating nutrients and allowing other forms of life to thrive. Yeah, I love science and I will just say it...Science is COOL!

Thanksgiving throughout November - Day 22

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Today was really a good day. Rob was being silly almost the whole day which was awesome. We ate like we had never had good food before. And our dear Moose was feeling better today. He played with Babe (my inlaws new, beautiful puppy) for hours and was totally wore out on the way home. They seem to love each other now.

 

You know, there were a few years in there that I hated the holidays. They made me realize what I wanted in a family and what I was missing. This year has been different. This particular year there have been so many changes and I feel my life coming together quite nicely. I wasn't dreading Thanksgiving. I wasn't super excited either. But you know it was a good day. It was easy, everything flowed how it was supposed to.

 

I'm genuinely thankful that I've had the chance to start my family this year. I truly believe that Rob and I will come up with some wonderful traditions in our family that will be passed down for generations. Like him drinking a ton of cofee first thing, playing video games for an hour, and then just being happy the rest of the day. Okay, that's not a true tradition, he does that all the time, but I guess it could be. Our lives wouldn't be the same if he didn't do that stuff. I can say that getting married to him was probably the best thing to happen to me. Sure, there are times he drives me crazy and I'd like to do more than ring his neck (like drag him out back and knock him out), but when I look at the big picture I can't see anyone else being there. We have been through so much in the near five years of our relationship and nothing seems to tear us apart. At the end of the day we look at each other and say I love you and that feeling of true love, appreciation, happiness, wholeness, and family is there.

 

I'm thankful that he was and is so patient with me. That he knows my moods now and works through them. When I'm down, he tries to fix it. When I'm angry, depending what it's about, he either tries to talk to me or he knows to give me my space. When I'm happy, he wants to be happy with me. When I'm being lazy, he lets me be lazy and tells me to not feel guilty about it. It's nice to have someone there that lets me be me without resenting me or being disgusted with me. Not that I'm disgusting, but I can definitely be a very difficult person. Shoot, when I don't know what I want I can be the biggest asshole even though I'm not trying to be that way. And here comes this man who is like, that's fine, be an ass, I'll be here until you figure it out. And he has been.

 

I'm thankful for the silly things he does too. Like one time this summer he put the milk in closet instead of the fridge. I guess he was still half asleep when he filled up his bowl of cereal and thought that was where it went. I discovered the milk several hours later when I went to make lunch and laughed so hard. It's silly and wonderful. He laughed too. I love when he laughs so hard, he doesn't make a real laughing noise, he gets kind of quiet and then his eyes tear up. That kills me because it's like, if you're laughing that hard, then you gotta be feeling joy. I love how he talks about Moose. Anyone who knows us and knows Moose knows what I'm talking about. He says Moose is noble. Moose is all-knowing. Moose is not a dog. He cracks me up. But truth be told, Moose is probably the best dog on the planet. I've never met anyone who has been that way with their pet either. He treats him so good and Moose reciprocates the love.

 

I have so much to be thankful for today. And the one thing that I feel needed to be shared was that this start to my family has been wonderful. I'm so glad it's finally happening to me. This is exactly where I want to be in my life.  

Thanksgiving throughout November - Day 21

AWE Today I got off work super early. I was so happy about this because I came home and did tons of homework. I realized how much more I have to do before the semester ends and got a little stressed but getting a jump start on it was a good idea. Today will be a short post. I am thankful that I was allowed to leave work early, without losing pay, and was able to come home and get a lot of homework done. YAY! I love days like that.

Thanksgiving throughout November - Day 20

Tuesday, November 20th...It was so beautiful this morning. It was so pretty that I took a picture from work. I must say that it's nice to work up on the mountain where I get such a great view of the valley. I'm thankful that I live in such a beautiful place and I get to see the world as a painting. It is an incredible blessing to live and experience such eloquent beauty on a daily basis here.

 

Thanksgiving throughout November - Day 19

You know, today I really just want to say I really, really, really am thankful for a nice, cold alcoholic beverage. After a day that dragged and the tiredness that I feel, it's so nice to be able to sit down, crack a can open and relax. I'm still going to do a little homework, but geez this is really nice.

Short but sweet post. I am thankful for my adult beverages.

Thanksgiving throughout November - Day 18

Wow! It's November 18th! Can you believe that? I just can't accept that this month is nearly over. Thanksgiving is around the corner, within days, and I'm not prepared. I just keeping thinking about all the homework I need to get done and how far behind I feel. Geez. I know somehow and someway I'll get it all done. But not without stress.

 

Today I'm really thankful for quiet days. Today really was so quiet at home. I got quite a bit of homework done, got the dishes done, got the sheets washed, went grocery shopping, and was able to get a few other small things done. I think if today had been like some other days I wouldn't have gotten so much done. And it feels nice to have a sense of accomplishment. I feel like I can go into the new week with some stuff done and a good start to get a lot more done the rest of the week. Quiet days really need to happen more often.

Thanksgiving throughout November - Day 17

Today I just want to say I am so so so very thankful that Rob has the patience of someone with the wisdom of a thousand years that knows some things just aren't worth getting angry over.

 

Today we discovered yet again there was cat urine in our living room, on the carpet, in at least 2 different places. Now if I had been the one to discover this insanity and annoyance I would have flipped out. I'm already at my wits ends about this crap with the cat, but seriously we just shampooed the carpets! And honestly, when Rob told me what he found, I tried to remain calm but I was shaking I was so upset. Ugh, cats! Love them and hate them....they're like the true test of a person's character.

 

Anyway, my dear Rob was so calm about it. He just got the cleaning stuff and went to town. Now he did his best to clean it all, spent no less than an hour scrubbing the carpets and vacuuming and doing everything he could to get the urine out of the carpet. He was so nice about all of it. Today I really needed that calmness about everything.

 

I am so thankful he is able to keep his cool over the little things. Always has been this and probably always will. Thank heavens.

Thanksgiving throughout November - Day 16

Once a month I get together with some of my favorite girls to play bunco. I've been playing for nearly 4 years now and I still look forward to this night. It's such a great reason to get together with girls I don't talk to all the time and catch up. They have such great personalities and are really able to just be good friends.

Tonight is bunco and I'm so ready for it. I've been stressing a lot lately about little things and honestly, it's getting to me. I was bitching today about getting my oil changed and doing my registration renewal on my car. Pretty sure I got ripped off. I think I actually got too upset over this and after cooling off (which took about an hour), I realized I got to emotionally upset over something I couldn't change. Bunco is really needed tonight. This is a night where I can put all my frustrations aside and just chill out. Starting tomorrow, I'm back on the school / study hard horse and not looking forward to it. I need to really bust my butt to get everything done so I can pass my classes this semester.

In closing, this bunco group has been there for me for a really long time and while I've gone through so much. I'm so thankful that I know these women and that they are committed to playing no matter what comes up. We all need to let loose sometimes and who better to let loose with than with some fun damn girls. BUNCO!  

Thanksgiving throughout November - Day 15

Okay, so I'm a day late. Truthfully, after I got my math test back yesterday, I was so frustrated that I couldn't think to post anything. I did horrible on the test and I fear I may fail this class. This means, after bunco tonight I am not doing anything fun, no social activities until this god forsaken class is over. I have to pass, failing is not an option.

 

One thing I really was thankful for yesterday was the mahi mahi tuna fish I had for lunch. Oh My Gosh Becky...look at her...

Oh wait, back on track. Seriously though, my lunch was damn good.

 

I was also really thankful I was able to continue working on the financial project I have been working on yesterday and the fact that my managers are so flexible and willing to let me work on very important projects. They are awesome and I'm very lucky to work with them. I look forward to learning how to analyze financial statements more in depth with my manager next week. I think this is a big deal and I seriously think it will help me in the long run.

 

I know I've already been thankful for food and the people I work with, but I have to reiterate how much these two things really influence my day. I was also thankful for my warm pajamas...but who wants to hear about that?