Buffalo and "interesting" happening

So . . . have y'all heard of the new "paleo diet?" It is also called the cave man diet and is based upon our way way way back ancestors back in the day of mammoths and saber tooth cats. I've talked about the universe before and how it "guides" you in ways that you sometimes don't even realize. Sometimes it shouts through a megaphone, and sometimes it whispers in your ear. Let's say that my moving toward a paleo diet was somewhere in between. I've been struggling to find a correct diet for about a year now and nothing has seemed satisfactory. And then the universe spoke, so I decided to try the paleo diet. Mind you . . . I have not eaten any red meat for about fifteen years, and even chicken and fish have been relatively scarce in my diet. So, this is very new to me. The basics are: meat, fruit, and vegetables. No dairy (that's a huge one and something that EVERYONE should follow), no grains (even whole ones), and no beans. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are not allowed either, although I think there's some controversy there. Anyway, it's fairly restrictive. Oh, and did I mention NO SUGAR? That's another one that EVERYONE should follow. Well, so far so good. My first red meat in fifteen years was . . . buffalo. I thought that was appropriate.

I've been having some sleeping issues lately and I'm blaming this next event on that! I was driving to Durango minding my own business and on my way to the library. As I was approaching a stop light, I noticed FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER a sign that pointed to the right and said Library. I had never gone that way before, so I ignored the sign. Well, in my noticing the sign, too much time had passed and when I got to the intersection, the light was already yellow . . . in fact, it had turned red before I actually crossed the intersection . . . which means that I went through a red light! I was absolutely horrified! I'm not a "yellow-light-person" . . . that is, I usually don't go through yellow lights. I start slowing down and check my rear-view mirror to make sure the person behind me isn't going to try to run the light. Anyway, on I go to the library. I pull into the parking place, start getting out, when a young police officer steps up beside me and says, "Get back in the car, M'am." I did, and he says something like, "Do you know why I'm here?" and I say, "Yes! I'm horrified that I just went through a red light! OMG!" So, he gets my license and registration blah blah blah.

Well, I missed the library, so I went to the health food store. When they asked how I was, I still answered "Excellent," even with just getting a ticket. And I honestly felt excellent! Anyway, I was still horrified over going through the red light and I thought there must be something wrong with the stop light. So, I drove back over there and went through another red light! OMG! No, just kidding!! I pulled up into a parking lot so I could see the light and timed the yellow light . . . I was still certain that something must be wrong with it. Well, I sat in that parking lot through several yellow lights, and the timing was fine. It was me. I still don't know how it happened, but I'm blaming lack of sleep. And as a side note, seeing that Library sign for the first time was one of those whispers from the universe. If I had gone that way instead of insisting on going my usual way, this wouldn't have happened.

I had planned on paying the ticket. The officer said I could go to court and fight it, and I said, "No, I did it! No reason to fight." So, later in the week, I went down to the court to pay the ticket. They told me that if I wanted to pay court costs (reasonably cheap), then I could get something called a deferred judgment and it wouldn't go on my record (or to my insurance company.) So, I went back home waiting for my day in court, which was about a month away. But . . . since I'm so behind on my blog . . . you get to find out now what happened!

Nothing. I expected everything to come out good, and it did. I was going to get all dressed up (in a dress) for the court because I had read that judge's use your clothes in deciding your fate. But, at the last minute, I decided to just wear nice, white jeans, and a sweater. It was fine. I was more dressed up than anyone else. I walked in and the tension in the room was thick. But, when the judge walked in, I liked his energy. He wasn't one of those power hungry dudes. About half the people were before me and I think every single one of them got a deferred judgment . . . including one woman who had had her second reckless driving incident in a year. I actually didn't think that was right. But . . . a deferred judgment worked for me, and I was outa there in about thirty minutes. Basically, I'm on probation for ninety days and if I don't get another ticket, then I'm home free. I had to pay the ticket fine ($100), plus court costs, plus deferred judgment costs. It will be worth it, though, not having it on my record.

Current: Jennifer had her two sons bring over some wood for me . . . an old tree that had fallen down. Plus, I had some big parts leftover from the last tree she brought me. So . . . I'm out there with my trusty ax hacking away at this big tree. It was tough, and I didn't look up for several minutes. When I finally stopped to rest, who is staring right at me but two big horses! Sentalina and Gitanna are about ten feet from the fence and both of them are staring right at me and my ax! It was the funniest thing I've seen . . . they made me laugh right out loud! So cool! I love that!