Sprains, stains, and automobiles

So here's a rundown of information from the past few weeks.

1. Sprains

I am on week three of healing after spraining my ankle while shooting hoops with Tommy in the driveway. I am officially without crutch and without brace (experimentally), and seem to be doing very well. It was the second most painful experience of my life, but my knight in shining armor (Tom) carried my sorry, sobbing, wobbly ass into the house and got me an icepack and a vicodin and kissed it and made it all better. Well, a little better anyway. He made me laugh, at least. Neither of us remember if the ball went in after I took the shot which took my ankle, which is kind of disappointing, but I like to think it did.

2. Stains

I'm a red-head! Again! I tried dying my hair chemically a couple years ago and it just kept washing out, but I really loved it. So, this time I tried henna! It's all-natural and actually good for you and your hair, which is sweet. It's extracted from a plant and can be used to stain the skin or hair and when you buy it, it comes as an olive-green powder, which you then mix with something acidic--like lemon juice--and allow to sit overnight. The smell is pretty strong but not overly unpleasant. Really the only major turnoff is that the stuff is the color and consistency of goose poop. My friend Katy literally had to just slather it on my hair, and then I sat like that, with poo on my head, for four hours. It was worth it, though, because the color is GORGEOUS. It looks so natural now that it's had a couple days to mature. I LOVE IT!

3. Automobiles

The epic, whirlwind odyssey that has been my 2003 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck for the last year-and-a-half finally seems to have settle down. After flipping it on the roof in January (an $11,000 repair that my insurance company miraculously decided to take on), having the frame replaced by Toyota in July (factory recall for rust damage to the frame--$12,000), and the various systems and parts I've had to replace due to rust damage spreading from the crappy frame, I'd say my vehicle has racked up over $25,000 in repairs in the last year--about twice the value of the truck itself. Finally, though, all seems to be well and the truck is ship-shape and ready for her 4,000 journey to South Dakota and back over the next two weeks. Go Becky! (I named her after the Dierks Bentley song, "What Was I Thinkin'," wherein "Becky was a beauty from south Alabama; her daddy had a heart like a nine-pound hammer. What was I thinkin'?"


In other news, I got my droid yesterday! Huzzah! Still figuring out how it works (LG Ally), but hopefully I'll be good to go for picture uploads and whatnot by the time I begin my trip. WHICH IS TOTALLY HAPPENING THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, GUYS. Holy crap. I should probably start thinking about packing...