Thursday, December 31, 2009

On re-living the past...

Ever have those moments where the past unexpectedly crops up?

Does anyone have any idea what to do with those moments?

When songs, people, places, thoughts, names, everything seems to remind you of the past?

Sure, when the past memories are bad or painful, it's easy to know what to do with that. You just ignore, stifle, generally set them aside. I have plenty of those. In fact, much of my early-twenties is filled to the brim with memories and people I'd rather just forget. Painful and stupid actions. Mistakes that are better left un-mentioned.

But what happens when the memories are good? When the experiences remain fondly in your heart? What are you to do when a memory crops up that you'd somehow forgotten you had? It's like our minds have this filing cabinet that stores all the best and none of the worst and at the most random and unexpected times, those files get opened. And why is it that such wonderful memories can bring both joy and pain?

Much of my time lived in Minnesota conjures up just that.

Joy and pain.

I remember so much about that year. And even the year prior, in Canada, that somehow leaks into Minnesota. Some of the people even. Minnesota was largely a year that I'd rather have done without. Too much hurt. Too much resentment. Too much...weirdness. It's one of those periods in my life during which I did and said really stupid things. But I also managed to do some really brilliant things. I mean, you can't count a year an entire loss when it's the year in which you meet your best friend. She was one of a few redeeming qualities of that year.

But there is one mistake from that year which has recently cropped up. I'm not ready to expound on it. I may never be ready. But so much of my time in Minnesota is tangled up in this one incident. Actions leading up to this one moment were well worth it. I can tell you where I was, who I was with, what was said.

So I'm muddling through that moment in time, wondering why I did what I did. And while the memories are difficult, I am amazed at how easily I can go back to that time and smile...

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

On resolutions...

So I haven't yet come up with anything in the way of a New Year's resolution, so in keeping with the theme of maintaining past resolutions, here are 5 things I've never done that I'll try to make happen in 2010:

1. Graduate from college
2. Learn to shoot a gun
3. Roast a prime rib
4. Buy a house
5. ......?

I really can't think of anything for a "new" resolution though. Probably "remembering to take time for myself" is a good one. That's something I've struggled with for as long as I can remember. So many of the resolutions I've put into play in the past have involved doing or not doing something. It was like some kind of extended Lent, which never really worked. There was the year I swore I'd never swear again (that didn't happen). And what about the one where I said I wouldn't kiss a boy again until I got married? That was a) stupid b) unrealistic c) detrimental and d) laughable (considering I was 19 at the time).

I'm not sure I think resolutions should be about doing or not doing things. To be honest, I don't know WHAT resolutions should be about. I guess maybe it's about being a better person. Not necessarily to the world or your family or your friends, but just being a better YOU. What can I do to be a better ME? I really have no idea.

Admittedly, there is much about me that needs improvement. I'm frustrated easily. I get bent about stupid things. I fly off the handle. I'm lazy (sometimes). I don't apply myself. I doubt myself. I'm forgetful and sometimes inadvertently rude or insensitive. I say stupid things. I tell jokes that aren't funny.

There are several ways in which I could be "bettered", but I'm not sure any of those things can or even should be changed. Maybe it's enough to be aware of my follies, to be conscious of the ridiculous patterns I've created and make an attemp - however slight - to avoid those missteps.

So my question is: what does "resolution" mean to you? And do you have any for 2010?

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

On the year in review...

I suppose it's the time of year where reflecting is appropriate. So here goes.

2009 presented itself rather challenging, but not without its heavy-duty "ups". Traveling proved to be my "thing" this year....I literally spanned the globe, most times with Todd, but made one solid trip with my girls (not all of them, but a solid group of them).

I finally took it upon myself to take some initiative and lose all my honeymoon weight. Yes, that was nearly 2 years ago, but it was taking to time to motivate myself. I had a goal, both in weight and time and reached both and was able to take on The Circus with pride.

Fitness was a new adventure this year and I completed the Bolder Boulder in approximately 1 hour and 6 minutes, a feat I was certainly not expecting. I ran the 10K in honor of my mother this year. She used to run every year until her knees just gave out and I'd been promising for the last 6 years that I'd run it for her someday, and I did. I even took her solid advice to "save something for the stadium" and ran through Folsom Field in under 15seconds...that was awesome!

I also did another race that I'd been wanting to do for years, Run the Republic. I undertook this race with three of my other girl friends. Our team name: The Skinny Bitches. Our name never got announced over the loud speaker on race day, but we think that was for obvious reasons. This race was a stairclimb...56 flights at just over 1000 steps to the top of the tallest building in Denver. I clocked in around 16mins for that sucker and that was without training. Holla!

I took quite a liking to the theatre this year. Another goal of mine was to see a Broadway show. Todd took me to The Phantom of the Opera this year and we were both blown away. The music, the costumes, the sets...it was all impressive and exciting! Then, in October, I was invited to see Wicked with a good friend for her birthday. This proved to be even more exciting that the first and I am certain that the latter is better than the former, but let's be honest: just about any Broadway show is spectacular!

You've all already heard about our traveling adventures so I won't write more about that here. It was big year, biggest yet in fact. We plan on topping ourselves in the years to come.

Todd and I both got to see one each of our former roommate get married this year, both to people we adore. Tarynn to Cory and Gabe to Kelly....each are perfectly suited and we were so happy to be able to celebrate with each couple.

Reflecting on the year gives me reason to pause and think about all the things I learned this year:
  • Japanese people are the kindest I've ever met
  • Cruisers are among the worst
  • Friendships take an extraordinary amount of work
  • I'm allowed to be selfish...with me, my time, my friends, my husband
  • The place in my heart for my family continues to grow
  • I am capable of doing anything I put my mind to
  • I am stronger than I give myself credit for
  • While I don't enjoy writing fiction, I'm not exactly bad at it
  • I work my best under stress, which is weird (G&Ks wedding proved that)
  • I throw a mean book release party
  • Selling myself short is the dumbest thing I've ever done
So, bring on 2010 and all it's challenges, adventures, and lessons....

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

On Christmas Baking

This year, I went a little bonkers with the cookie making.
To be completely honest, I've always gone a little bonkers, but this year was especially out-of-control.
I usually choose four recipes to make, two of which are seasonal "standards": the perfected sugar cookie and my grandma's coconut macaroons that (apparently) only I am able to do well (which is weird because I learned the recipe from my dad and now he's totally incapable of doing them himself).

But this year, I was so excited about the Christmas season that I made the following (most of them in one afternoon):
The Perfected Sugar Cookie
Coconut Macaroons
Waldorf Slice (another grandma recipe that my mom requested)
Baklava
Pecan Tassies
Anise Ovals
Biscotti (another request from mom)
Chocolate Peppermint Bark

and with the help of my dad, I finally learned how to make:
Christmas Cake
Christmas (plum) Pudding

The last two were my absolute favorites thsi year because I got to make them with my dad. He and I are the sentimental fools in our family and those two recipes in particular are HUGE traditions for us so I was glad to learn how to make them. Even if they are incredibly difficult and time-consuming. But eventually Todd and I will host a Christmas dinner and the plum pudding and all it's glory will be on me to make. So I'd best be prepared.

And if you've never had my family's Christmas cake, I highly recommend it. My dad makes the loaves in three sizes and the little one usually ends up going home with me. It's one of my favorite holiday treats so having a tiny batch to myself is always a treat...it's soft and fruity and nutty and basically wonderful.

Todd isn't *quite* as in to Christmas as I am (probably never will be), but easily one of his favorite parts of the holiday, other than eating my cookies, is decorating the sugar cookies. He gets really excited and makes fun creations...this year included a smurf-like elf and a "USA" bell (among other, less appropriate designes).

So now our house is filled to the brim with nearly a dozen cookie tins just waiting for Christmas parties and various people to deliver them to. I had official Quality Control Managers this year...even braved a snow storm to make sure they arrived before bedtime. They were the first QCMs in my baking history and all were approved, so that was good news!

Yes, I love to bake. Yes, I love Christmas.
It's a marvelous combination!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Beethoven's Playlist

I've been guest posting on a new blog, Beethoven's Playlist, and you should read them!

The first was a post about Christmas music and today's post included my thoughts on some current musical phenoms...

Enjoy!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Somebody's got a case of the Mondays...

Today started out fine, I guess. We both slept in a little bit, but I'd made the coffee last night so it was brewing by 6am. Just that extra little bit of sleep was nice.

The whole morning really just went off with every amount of normalcy that it could. My drive to work was even easy, arriving 5 minutes early. That's when things went downhill.

My phone was ringing.

It was Todd. Not entirely out of the ordinary, but why would he call rather than text, like normal?

"Hi honey...umm...I just got in a car wreck."

Blamo! Monday has officially arrived. Bastard Mondays.

The whole story is too long to tell here. And it's rather boring, honestly. No fireworks, no injuries (thank God). So the car is at "the shop" and we're waiting to be told if it's repairable or if it's a total.


Poor sad Cavalier. It's been a good car. Hopefully we can get it fixed. Sigh.
Merry Christmas.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

The Omnivore's Dilemma...and my own

I know I talk about school a lot lately. Frankly, it's just one of few things that are at the forefront of my mind right now. Justifiably so, if you ask me. I have a countdown clock on my Facebook...I think I'm sitting at somewhere around 400 days left until December 11, 2010 when at 9:00 in the morning I will happily collect my hard-earned degree and march myself right to brunch for some deserved mimosas.

I went a little crazy the other day, looking at the 2009 graduation announcements and junk. It was pretty exciting. Only three more semesters, and that'll be me! I never got a class ring in high school because I opted for the letter jacket instead (which turned out to be a rather wise decision given that cheerleading often had me outside on snowy, cold October Friday nights...). Apparently people get class rings for their college graduation? I had no idea. But again, I went crazy and "personalized" a ring for myself (which I'll probably never get because 1. it's $700 and 2. do 30-year-olds really get class rings?)...you can inscribe the inside of the ring. I guess most people get their name inside. Mine would say "fucking finally..." Seriously. It would say that.

I have mostly been feeling very anxious about the next several months of my life. It's going to be a lot of really hard work, more classes than I've ever crammed into a single semester. And I'm really excited about it! Except for the part where I have to take a freshman level Biology course to finish out some of my core credits. Grr. I hate science. Almost as much as I hate math, but nothing can top my hatred of math. I'm taking some classes that I'm not entirely amped about - Technical Writing being one of them - but in my effort to get moving along, it's what I have to do. I'd rather take Magazine Writing so I'm holding out for that, but it's only offered one semester a year. Hopefully I can get into that.

After so many years of suffering through classes that are both boring and required, it's nice to finally be taking classes that mean something to me. One this semester in particular is really throwing my world for a loop. I didn't think it would turn into this, but given the professor, I shouldn't have been so naive. At face value, it's just a class about rhetoric and film and how they relate to each other. Oh, how it has turned into SO much more. I am finding a yet-undiscovered passion for food that I didn't think I had before. True, I've long had an affinity for fine foods and healthy foods (which aren't ALWAYS mutually exclusive, but sometimes), but this class - especially lately - has really challenged me to consider where my food comes from and how it's made (and treated, honestly).

I'm not going all PETA on everyone. I'm (probably) not even going to go vegetarian...again. But reading about and watching where food (meat) comes from is disturbing and eye-opening. I have always had a big heart for animals. Growing up, we had chickens and geese. Our neighbors had horses, sheep, chickens, turkeys, dogs, rabbits, you name it, most of which were used for either farmwork or for eventual food. And we all had pets. Granted, I had what I have termed "disposable pets" as they were by and large stray cats that lived in our barn. Hey, we lived on quite a lot of property and if a fox or raccoon got one of the cats, well that was just life. And it is.

I have also, for at least 15 years, held the view that cows and pigs and chickens are on this earth for the primary reason of providing us with food. Even when I was a staunch vegetarian for 5 years of my life, I held this view. It would be hard to change my mind.

However, I am also fundamentally opposed to the abuse of animals, pet or otherwise. I am horrified by the living conditions of cows and pigs in CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations....doesn't that just SOUND awful?), not to mention chickens in egg production as well as those being bred for their meat. Don't get me wrong, I'm not some bleeding heart crazed animal rights person. But at the same time, is it really too much to ask a few simple things:
1. That animals be allowed to live their lives as animals, grazing free-range on grass rather than being force-fed a corn diet for which their bodies are ill-prepared to manage; and
2. That animals be allowed to die quickly, mercifully and with dignity.

At this juncture, I cannot even get into my major issues with the people running and/or working in slaughter houses.

All of this has really led Todd and me to reconsider how and what we eat. And there are a few ways in which we'll be changing our habits, effective immediately.
1. We will no longer by produce that is not in season in Colorado
2. We will do everything in our power to purchase only Colorado-grown produce
3. We will no longer buy meat from the supermarket
4. We will only purchase grass-fed meat (I would prefer that the meat also be pastured, but am having some challenges finding that)
5. And if we can find a market for it, we will only buy Colorado-raised beef, chicken, and pork.

On top of the horrific animal conditions in CAFOs, I am also all for supporting sustainability and local economy.
I am not naive enough to think that CAFOs will ever go away. McDonald's will continue to exist and will likely continue to by their product from the lowest bidder, no matter the human or animal cost. But what I do firmly believe is that I can change myself and I can attempt to change those around me. I won't thrust my beliefs down your throat. I've never been okay with that. But if you want to know why I eat the way that I do, I'll tell you. I won't shy away from it.

If you are at all interested in changing the way you eat, I highly recommend doing two things: read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and watch Fast Food Nation (this is a narrative based on the book by Eric Schlosser)

Friday, September 11, 2009

Suggestions anyone?

Real Jobs I Would Like To Have:
  • Editor for a/any publishing house, specializing in children's and YA fiction
  • Writer for a/any bridal website or magazine
  • Travel columnist
  • Editor for Westword (or something quite similar)
  • Editor for a/any health type magazine.

Anyone have any suggestions? I'm seriously asking.

Todd is working through this series on his own blog (initialdraft.blogspot.com) about writing. I'm wondering if I can do something similar regarding weddings? Just need to come up with more of a concept, I suppose. More ideas on what to write about. Suggestions, anyone?
I'm seriously asking.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Scheduling blurs...

Todd asked me yesterday what our upcoming plans were.
There's quite a list:

Friday, I'm going to fashion show and he's going to a cigar bar.
Saturday, he's going to writer's group and I'm studying then going to a bachelorette party.
Sunday, he's running and I'm going to church, then the gym, then a bridal shower.
Monday, I have class at night.
Tuesday & Wednesday are standard fare.
Thursday, we're trying to have dinner with some friends before their wedding.
Friday, no idea.
Saturday, I'm supposed to be going on a mini-roadtrip with Jill.

Ah, scheduling.
Frickin' madness.

I think Todd often wonders how my brain works in order to keep all this crap straight...and then I think he thinks "Oh hell no...I'm not getting into that!"

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Hippies Unite!

It came up in conversation at work the other day that I am a hippie.

Not a dirty hippie, mind you. I shower every single day (but will admit to skipping a shower on the weekend from time to time) and don't generally wear hemp or whatever, but I am an openly yuppie hippie.

I don't eat high fructose corn syrup or trans-fat.
I prefer alternative medicines and don't drug myself whenever possible (my new-found allergies require some heavy duty drugs for which there is not a natural cure as far as I can tell).
I'd rather walk or ride bikes than drive a car.
I love being outside.

So if that makes me a hippie, then I am a loud and proud urban yuppie hippie.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Exercises in Futility?

Goals are important for me. I think they're important for everyone.

Everyone needs to have something to work toward. I hate change, but change in the sense of personal betterment is a different thing entirely.

Stagnation is an absolute killer. In stagnation is where we meet complacency. I'm pretty staunchly against complacency. I'm against it because it is both boring and dangerous.

I think that complacency leads to an underlying desire to never change. And when we don't change, we stop learning. Which ultimately leads to ignorance. And I refuse to be ignorant...about anything. Politics, philosophy, religion, life, anything...there should always be a desire to learn, change, and grow from learning from and about these things (and so much more).

And so, for the next 15 weeks, I am choosing to learn from the last several years of my life (as respects my schedule v. school) and change my patterns of behavior.

I am terrible about keeping in contact with people. I see people on Facebook from when I lived in Canada (a year that, without question, ranks highly on the list of Best Years of My Life) that I just never talk to. I find that disturbing and even more so when I find that all of those people are still talking to each other and yet I am so uninvolved in their lives. These are people that I shared one of the most important years of my life with and I am in constant contact with NONE of them. And of my year in Minnesota (that ranks highest on the list of Worst Years of My Life), I am in constant contact with exactly ONE of those people. I may have hated every second that I was there, but there are at least a handful of people that I connected with dearly and just don't talk to anymore. It's strange.

And as my life continues this progression of...life, I find that I have fewer friends than ever before, but the ones that I have, I count as precious. Yet at the same time I say that, I also have to reprimand myself a little bit for not making more time to cultivate those relationships. I cannot remember the last time *I* called someone else to catch up, hang out, anything.

The next 15 weeks will be an exercise that hopefully will not end in futility. I intend to spend time with at least one girl friend at least one time each week, regardless of day or time.

Additionally, this is an exercise in creating free time for myself. Something that I have been historically bad at doing.

Here goes nothin'....

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Just watched "the" texting and driving PSA from europe...i feel ill...and will not be texting whilst driving ever again. That was horrible.
Goals for this semester: get nothing lower than a B in any class; hang out with at least one girl friend one day/night per week; and keep the house less cluttered

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The Britney Show

Most of you know that back in April 2009, four of my friends and I descended up on Las Vegas for the Britney Spear Circus Tour (at the MGM Grand Garden Arena). Holy hell, did we have a ton of fun! It was the first of what will be MANY "Girls Trips" ... woo hoo!

As is my way with many concerts, I enjoy dressing up in that concert's theme. For example, when Laura and I went to the Madonna show, we were pretty 80s-tastic about it. For the Poison/Cinderella show, we white-trashed it up a bit. For the Godsmack show, I was in knee-high Doc Martens and a short leather dress. You get the idea.

So for the Britney show, we all decided to find a Britney costume from one of her videos or appearances and wear that to the show.

Here were the final choices:


From left to right, here are the original Britney costumes (I think we did rather well, considering our meager budgets!):


Laura as Womanizer Britney (the waitress):




















Micah as Slave 4 U Britney (VMAs):
















Steph as Me Against The Music Britney:





















Nikki as Womanizer Britney (the secretary):

















Chandra as Piece of Me Britney:

















This was, without a doubt, one of the most fun shows I have EVER been to and I was so glad that I got to go with such a fantastic group of girls (who also indulged my desire to dress up for shows...what great sports they are)! It should be noted that my costume is the primary reason I started my insane quest to lose weight and get back in shape (Weight Watchers, running, and Jillian Michaels...I think it worked out all right)...

One of the best parts of the weekend happened as we were walking out of our hotel to the show when "old man winter" about fell off his damn barstool watching us walk by! HILARITY! The girls also enforced the rule that at some point in the night, I was to walk in front of them while talking to myself so as to appear....nuts. It happened. We laughed.

Most ironic part of the weekend was when we walked outside our hotel on the way to the show and some random guy just happened to have a GIANT ASS SNAKE for people to touch, feel, hold, whatever. How ironic that I was dressed in THAT outfit and this guy has a snake. Weird. It seemed a bit too coincidental not to at least hold the thing...which I was terrified of doing, but did anyway (with a bit of coercion and help from the snake's owner):

(yes, I was as scared as I look)

All in all, one hell of a show, one hell of a trip, one hell of a group of friends.
What next???

Monday, August 24, 2009

Late August musings....

I feel like I haven't blogged in a really long time. That's probably not true, but that's what it feels like.

A brief update:
We went to Alaska during the first week of August...it was way hotter there than expected. Who goes to AK and expects to have 80*F+? Not me! We had a really good time and kind of want to go back. That's the problem with traveling...you always want to re-visit the places you've been, but there are so many other places you haven't been to yet! All said, we'll probably head back to Victoria, BC in the near-ish future to drink more local beer and generally hang out in Canada again (since we love it there).

My fall semester is in full swing, although it hardly feels like it. I've been a bit of a slacker this week and really need to quit doing that so that I don't fall behind. I'm glad to be taking upper-division classes again. Last semester was painful and rather boring with all the freshman level classes. Gross. My work load appears that it will be quite a bit less than in the summer, but more attention to detail and research will be required, which I'm fine with. I have exactly 4 assignments in one of my classes. Nice. Just show up to class, participate, and write quality papers and I'm home free. Why is it that my upper-div classes seem easier than the lower? Probably because they're courses I care about and am interested in, rather than just hum-drum crap that I *have* to do, per the university's requirements. I can dig it.

What I really can't believe is that summer is over. Frankly, I don't think it ever showed up. I can count on one hand the days we had temps at 90*F or higher. That's a crummy summer, if you ask me. However, we did a lot of really fun things so if the temps are all the kept me down, it's not that bad. I would have liked to spend more afternoons at the pool, in any case.

As a brief aside, I love to eat.

Thank God for Weight Watchers and Jillian Michaels!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Choosing to think positively....

The other day at work, I realized that I'd made a mistake and I beat myself up really hard about it. Really hard. Like I always do. Because apparently, for me, it's never okay to make a mistake, but for anyone else, it's totally acceptable, understandable, even expected. I just never allow myself the chance to be human and eff up from time to time.

But this mistake, as with other issues that have arisen in the last several months (most of the NOT my fault, but I have to deal with the backlash of them), I am learning heavily from and it's working well. I have a giant sticky note on my monitor with several "positive thinking" statements:

I AM good at my job.

I NO LONGER make stupid mistakes.

I NO LONGER get frustrated at things I can't control.

I CAN slow down and time the time to do it right the first time.

I have been living by these mantras for about a week now and they are really helping. I am coming to the realization that shit happens and sometimes I cause it and sometimes I don't. But regardless, it's not okay to beat myself up and it is okay to recognize that every single person in my office (and in the world) makes mistakes and it's okay....just so long as I don't do it again and learn from it.

It's not like this happens every day, so that's the good news. I wouldn't have a job if it did. I am human, after all.

Epic fail, ABC....Epic fail

Dancing With The Stars just announced the celebs for the new season:

Donny Osmond - singer / entertainer
Mya - singer
Macy Gray - singer
Aaron Carter - singer
Tom Delay - former senator
Melissa Joan Hart - actor
Debi Mazar - actor
Ashley Hamilton - actor
Joanna Krupa - model
Kathy Ireland - model
Kelly Osbourne - reality star
Mark Dacascos - reality star (Iron Chef chairman)
Chuck Liddell - mixed martial artist
Louie Vito - pro snowboarder
Natalie Coughlin - Olympic swimmer
Michael Irvin - former Cowboys wide receiver

Epic fail, ABC. I'm looking forward to Osmond, Mya, Carter, Hart, and Ireland. Ix-nay on the rest. Booooooo....good thing I still have So You Think You Can Dance and America's Best Dance Crew. Sigh.

My DWTS list would include the following:
Robin Roberts - Good Morning America anchor
Raven Symone - actor
Kevin from the Backstreet Boys
Melanie Chisholm - Sporty Spice
Joel McHale - comedian
Chelsea Handler - comedienne
Debbie Harry - singer
Kat Von D - reality star
Eric McCormack - actor
Shirley MacLaine - actor
Benji Madden - singer
Donnie Wahlberg - actor/singer
Marcus Schenkenberg - model
Phil Keoghan - host of The Amazing Race

Wishful thinking, at best.

Monday, August 10, 2009

I hate coming back to work after vacation.

Today was a miserable day. I kind of can't even believe it. I got next to no sleep due, in large part, to screaming children at all hours of the night. Sigh.

Coming back to work after vacation is horrible, we all know this. But today was especially horrifying. Without any effort, I was made to feel like an incompetent boob. So that's fun. I really hate that feeling...like I'm somehow the worst ever at my job and that I have no business being there in the first place. Sometimes, it's very very hard being the youngest (by a long shot) person on my team with the least amount of experience. I try really hard to do the best that I can, but sometimes, it's really easy to make me feel like a total moron.

This is incredibly vague and I'm aware of that. Just know that work was total shit today.

There is a redeeming factor to today however.

I came home this evening to find Todd making my all-time favorite dinner he's ever made me. WHAT!?!?? That's usually reserved for date nights and only after I've requested it several bajillion times in one day...it's a really hard dish to make so for him to make it on a MONDAY no less was very very special and surprising!

I'm a lucky girl.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

I stand by my previous statements...

Regarding vacation.

The week prior to any vacation is, without a doubt, the WORST. Worse even than the week after a vacation.

This week has been pretty gross already and today is (hopefully) going to be the worst of it all. I'm itchy like you wouldn't even believe so I made a doctor's appt for Friday afternoon at 3pm...an hour after my final ends and 2 hours before we're supposed to out for dinner and the airport. I'm the queen of jamming my schedule, aren't I? (The answer is, of course, yes.)

I went to The Home Depot to get a water filter for our shower head and was met with more-than-blank stares by just about everyone I talked to. "Do they even make those?" I was asked at one point. Uh, yeah. I checked on the Home Depot website. The guy who ends up "helping" me is not the large man he was described to me as by the customer service rep, but rather a very old gentleman, towering over me at a slight 5'4" (more or less), and one very very offensive individual, but I digress.

I went to Starbucks for my daily dose of pick-me-up (my boss thinks we should install a Starbucks in the office just for me...I have an addiction) and the woman next to me is tapping her foot incessantly and then a guy sits down on the other side of me and REEKS of day old cigarette smoke. Foul.

Work stuff is standard, but I'm putting pressure on myself to finish everything up before I leave so that no one else has to deal with my crap.

Suffice it to say, I'm ready for a vacation. I look like I've been cast in some crappy, B-rate horror flick, what with all the claw marks and scratches and gashes all over my body. Fortunately, Melo has given me the name of a lotion she swears by that is a) expensive, but b) available at Walgreens in small bottles so I can take them with me wherever I go. YAY!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

I'm a wreck!

I have been itching incessantly since about 9pm yesterday. I've actually been pretty itchy for a couple days now, but it got really bad last night. I wish Todd could have stayed up all night scratching my back while I slept.

This morning, it's pretty bad too. I'm clawing at my arms and back...I'm sure it looks glorious!

And the nasty weird whatever-the-hell is back on my hands. Every time I get out of the shower, the palms of my hands look like Falcor's skin. It's disgusting and it HURTS!

Why, oh why, can't I get into the doctor before September?!?!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

On growing up....

I can't believe I'm speaking in numbers I actually understand at this point. Only a few more semesters and I'm totally done. I think that number is going to be five, just to be certain that whatever sanity I have left remains intact.

Latin was supposed to be the class that was "easy" and it's turning out to be a bigger pain the ass that I could have possibly imagined. Bleh. Midterm on Monday, Final on the 31st, then done. Thank God.

In other news, Todd and I finally found something to purchase with the rest of our wedding money (yes, we still have some leftover) and bought a brand new, giant bed. WOO!!! Exciting for Todd because now his back won't hurt every morning. Exciting for me because we kept the old bed and I now have a guestroom. I even bought a funky new bedding set for it. YAY! We're almost done setting up the guestroom... just need to organize some misc. crap that we still have (and can't get rid of). We did QUITE a number on that room last weekend. Re-organized Todd's closet and somehow managed to get rid of another trunk-full of crap, either via garbage, recycle, or Goodwill.

I am baffled at how we manage to toss a trunk-load of stuff at least once a month, if not more. Where does all this crap come from?! We don't even have a storage unit! All our wordly belongings are either in our apartment or our garage (and even that is really only our camping stuff and some Christmas stuff). I have absolutely no problems getting rid of excess junk. The less stuff we have, the less stuff there is to pack and move (at some point), and the less clutter there is to make me crazy. I am quite enjoying this minimizing venture I've been on for some time. It's been a New Year's Resolution for nearly 3 years now. It's nice to see it in action.

I think we're even going to get rid of the "purpa chair" (and possibly buy a fancy leather "cigar chair" for Todd instead)

and I'd really like to dispose of the white shelving that I've had since I was 20....move the big brown bookcase into the guestroom and invest in a nice little "media cabinet" for the living room.


Part of this is me de-cluttering. Part of this is me coming to the realization that I'm a grown up and it's time to have grown-up things and stop living off of chip-board and crap from Goodwill or that has been handed down to me. It worked for a really long time...and it worked well...and I really liked it. But the "purpa chair" needs to go.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Fatigue, housing, and career upgrades...

Over the weekend, we headed out to Woodland Park / Pike Nat'l Forest to do some more camping, this time with L&R as part of the crew too. I like to refer to our camping trip as "Hilton Camping" because the campground had paved roads and was pretty "chi-chi" as far as that goes. Really clean and really close to town. Ah well. It was still camping and it was one of the only available campgrounds that weekend. So there's that.

We did a pretty "hike" on Saturday (it was more of a walk than anything else) and wound up at Rampart Resevoir which was really beautiful and BIG! I took a bunch of pictures and then we had lunch on one of the fishing beaches...which was SO awesome (nicely done on lunch, L&R! Definitely stealing the wraps idea for next time!). We stuck around there for a while until we saw some ominous clouds starting to roll in and headed back to camp.

I'll admit, it wasn't the most relaxing weekend of my life. Far from it, really. I don't know why, but I was fatigued the whole time and not really talkative or fun, frankly. I was just...done. Totally spent. It didn't help that I was sick on Thursday and my right eye was totally effed all weekend. All I really wanted to do the whole time was sleep and read. I found myself on the outskirts of almost all conversations, preferring to be alone rather than around people. That feeling is pretty foreign to me. I almost always want to be in the middle of the action, but last weekend, I just couldn't handle being around anyone for very long. I took naps a lot and went to bed early. I read my book for much of the daylight hours. I was just exhausted. I was so tired and so dis-interested in human contact that I even found myself doing the dishes...twice. I hate doing camping dishes simple because of the cold water, but it was actually enjoyable this weekend.

Time for a big break from life? I think so!
33 days until Alaska. I don't plan on resting much there either, but it'll be nice to get really far away from home for a spell.

Speaking of home, we're looking at two more tomorrow night. Keep your fingers crossed...I have a really good feeling about both of them, but a really really good feeling about one of them...

Also, Todd has applied for an "upgrade" at work and has interviews throughout this week...keep your fingers extra crossed for him for the next few days...this position would be such a great move for him, for so many reasons! I'm so excited that he's jumping at the opportunity, but trying really hard not to get my hopes up. I think he's a great choice for the position, but I don't want to get too excited, in case it doesn't go the way we're hoping it does. So keep those finger crossed and good thoughts in the air...!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

They go in threes

Maybe now we can stop talking about those f**king GOSSELINS!

Three major icons gone in one week.
Makes me feel old.
Makes me feel reminiscent.
Makes me want to watch Charlie's Angels...and also to never watch it again.
Makes me want to listen to his greatest hits...and also never hear Thriller again.
Makes me want to youtube some re-runs...and also never hear "Heeeere's JOHNNY!" again.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

It's the little things...

Things that I currently hate:
1. When people make gross-out noises about foods I'm eating and/or like
2. Disorganization
3. Clutter

I guess the last two are sort of the same. I guess.
I'm on a mission to make our guest room more of a guest room. I want to get the clutter out of there and the Christmas crap down to the garage. There's just a lot of stuff in there, none of which can really be gotten rid of (books and shelves; desk; blah blah blah), but it can certainly be organized a little bit better. We have some random storage tubs that just need to get to the garage post-haste. I'm tired of the clutter. Really tired of it. Unfortunately, the problem was created largely by me. Sigh.

I have the shakes really bad right now. I have no idea why. I had the exact same breakfast I always have. Absolutely nothing different about today than any other day. But I have the shakes. And it sucks.

We're going camping again this weekend, same crew + L&R...and for two days instead of just one. I'm pretty stoked. The only hitch in the plan is that we're heading out on Friday after work...probably going to hit some heavy duty traffic. Oh well! It's still camping for the whole weekend, which will be nice even if I have to bring homework with me. It's the compromise I have to make in order to do fun stuff in the summer, I guess. It'll be fine. Just so long as no one gives me hell for it....mwahahaha....

In the recent past, I have found myself falling more and more in love with Todd. Who knew that was possible?? We've had some really amazing conversations lately and have cleared up some misc. misunderstandings that were kind of holding us both back from lots of things. Sometimes, we just get so busy and wrapped up in life that we get a bit off track and off of the same page...it just takes a little re-evaluation and some good conversations to get everything back in line.

We started dancing again too, which is something that I've always loved doing with him. Except this time around, we're simply having way more fun. We laugh a LOT during our lessons and generally just get silly which is so much fun for me. I love being silly with Todd! One of my favorite, most treasured moments with Todd was when we were just starting to get serious and he stole chocolate from me...it's too hard to explain what happened and the moment is really just for the two of us, but man were we laughing so hard!

I think dancing is something of a priority for me, just because we have so much fun doing it together and it's really exciting to learn something new at the same pace as each other. We're both "new" to dancing so learning it together is really enjoyable for me. And we do enjoy going to weddings and out dancing and being able to know what steps to do and to what types of songs...I really hope there's some chances for us to get our groove on during the cruise!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Looks like somebody had a case of the Mondays...

Yesterday turned into a big ol' Charlie-Foxtrot in a hurry. I have no idea why it had to happen on a Monday, but it did. I hate Monday's.

It all started last Friday when I went to register the new car, Eleanor. Turns out, the bank sent me incomplete and/or wrong information so I wasn't able to register the car after all. What a way to spend a lunch hour that could have/should have been spent studying. Sigh. The woman at the DMV-County Clerk was at least very helpful and nice so that softened the blow.

I got everything squared away and went back to the DMV yesterday, wasting yet another perfectly good lunch hour. I get there and they're on #195...I'm #219. Super rad! It actually went rather quickly, as far as the DMV is concerned. So I get up to the counter, expecting to write a check for about $250 to register the car. What the guy tells me next is almost unfathomable.














Your total comes to $1512.40.












Excuse me, WHAT?!?!? Apparently the bank didn't roll taxes and fees into the loan so I had to cough up about $1200 more than expected. Jeebus! What the hell was that all about?!? As far as I know, it's pretty standard to roll that crap into the loan because, well, a lot of people don't just have $1500 sitting around. Fortunately for us, I'm a nazi about savings so while it was HUGE hit for us, it won't destroy us. It just pisses me off...and leaves us $1200 less in the bank for a down payment on a house. Super. Freaking super.

That whole incident really made me reconsider buying a house. I mean, yes, it would be nice and yes, there's that $8000 first-time-home-buyers credit out there, but after the sh*tstorm yesterday, I'm thinking a little more seriously about what a house could cost us. Sigh. I'm exhausted. Just done.

Good thing that wasn't the only crap I had to deal with yesterday. Get it all out of the way at once, I guess.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Misc. updates....

I feel like summer is getting really busy again. Just like last year. Only this time, I have a lot more school to contend with.

I'm really bad and prioritizing, as has been evidenced in many many ways in the last several weeks.

It's like I make a plan for one thing, but forget about everything else in the mean time.

I have NINETEEN hours a week set aside for studying. It's totally ridiculous. But I can't just NOT study.

The other issue is that I like camping...and that REALLY cuts into my study time. Mostly because I require the internet for all of my school work. I have a lot of reading to do too which will happen on the drives to/from campsites and on random downtimes during the weekend, but the reality is that school is a HUGE priority for me right now. It has to be. I just want to be done. More than I could possibly describe. If I really push myself, I can be done by December 2010...I'm going to try one semester of 12 credits and if that's just too much, I'll push graduation back to Spring 2011 lest I go insane (and drive Todd to the brink in the meantime)...

If you know me at all, you know that I put myself on ridiculous schedules for life. I have to X by this time and Y by this time. It's madness and I've been fighting with myself over this for YEARS. I'm coming more and more to terms with "things will happen when they happen" and to just accept that. I want to be done with school, but I don't want to be miserable in the process. Better to take it slow if necessary than go completely mad in the process.

I'm just so close I can taste it now. That's what's killing me.

In other news, we're probably heading to Puerto Rico next spring. It'll be beautiful that time of year and it's pretty inexpensive, all things considered. And I'll be able to use my mad Spanish skillz...hahaha! I'm very out of practice...I'll freshen up before we go, that's for sure!

Mostly I've just had so much on my mind lately that I can't really function properly. Bleh. I cleaned the house like a crazy person while Todd was camping this last weekend. It felt so good to get all of that done. There are just a few things out on the counters right now that need to be handled, but at least it's not the charlie-foxtrot it was not so many days ago. I can't believe how messy I can allow the house to become!

On the housing front, we're still looking and still have some time, but we'll need to give notice to our apartments by September 1, so hopefully we'll find our dream house in short order. There are TONS to look at still...we just have a few requirements and unfortunately the beautiful homes with perfect kitchens tend to be in suburbia and not within walking distance of ANYTHING. And all the houses in walking distance of bars and restaurants are either too expensive or too crappy. So we're still lookin'...

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Mama Sannino's....yum!

Check out our "other" blog, Tuesday or Friday, for info on a new-to-us Italian restaurant in Arvada

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Does it really matter??

GAFFNEY: America's first Muslim president? - Washington Times

I'm not sure if this should be a big deal or not....I lean toward "not".
Does it matter if our president is Catholic or Evangelical or Muslim or Mormon or Buddhist or anything else?

Personally, I think that being an American and being a Christian (or any other faith) are mutually exclusive. We don't live in a theocracy, so religion and politics can be separate (to some degree...let's not get into the same old fight we've all been having since the dawn of time)...

I've thought for well over a decade that it's high time we stop focusing on the President's religion and start focusing on whether or not he's doing his job.

I'm just sayin'...

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

It all had to come out sooner or later...

Last night got the best of me, to say the least.
Here's the breakdown of my breakdown:

1. Had to cancel a date with girl friends in order to prep for a bridal shower I was throwing for a woman I've never met on Tuesday (today).
2. Stopped by Bed Bath & Beyond on my way home only to discover that their "Beyond" is a load of sh*t as they do not carry flower vases (something I needed for the shower).
3. For the last 2 days, my (brand new, sorta pricy) car has been doing this thing where it revs to somewhere between 2000 - 3000rpm unnecessarily any time I step on the brakes. I call my dad to see if he has any clue why it's doing that (since he used to drive a Subie) and he says that it's probably that the throttle isn't closing and that it's very unsafe for me to be driving the car. Well f**k. So glad I just dropped a ton of moo-lah on a new car that was supposed to be a hell of a lot safer than the old car.
4. I find out from Todd, via my dad, that the bridal shower is actually last night, not tonight, as I am trying to put together a "crafty" bit for the party. I call my mom and immediately ask "Why did you tell me the party was tomorrow night if it's actually tonight?" She thought she told me, which she so obviously did not. So much for finishing several projects for the party...and looking nice. Sigh.

I had my breakdown somewhere between numbers three and four, crying hysterically at Todd and threatening to hang the next person that tells me I'm irrational about cars and that I expect them to do too much. Not actually. I expect them to work. That's all. I would like to drive ONE FRIGGIN' CAR that doesn't have the clutch pedal fall off while I'm rounding Stadium Curve at 65mph in the winter or have the gear shifting cable detach from the gear box while I'm coming down a hill with (now) very little ability to turn onto a side street or have the head gasket crack in SIX places while I'm driving because no sensor light came on to tell me that anything was wrong (despite the fact that I was filling the coolant resevoir twice a DAY) or discover that something electronic re: the throttle is probably whacked out.

Yes, all of those things have happened to me.

It became rather evident last night that I am not allowed to have nice things because regardless of how well I take care of them, they go to complete shit at some point very early on. It's a wonder that my fancy pink laptop hasn't crapped out for no reason.

I understand that cars have issues and you have to fix them. I just don't understand why these major mechanical issues happen on EVERY CAR I OWN. I take very good care of my cars. Regular oil changes, regular tire rotation, regular air filter maintenance, regular car washes (just to be nice to my cars)...I do everything by the book and yet I still end up dealing with something so far out of left field. I'm not even hard on my cars. I'm getting 2.7more mpg than the previous owner (who can be somewhat hard on her cars). I don't brake excessively. I don't grind the gears. I don't rev the engine (of my own accord). I don't ride the clutch.

So can someone explain to me why the car manufacturers of the world seem to have it in for me?

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Skepticism takes hold...

We've been church hopping for a little while now. We haven't found one that's exactly right, which is frustrating. There are several reasons that we've been looking around, which I don't really want to get into on here, for many reasons (we can chat later if you're that interested). Our basic requirements are that I can feel connected through the music and Todd can feel challenged through the sermon. You'd think it would be easy. Sadly, not.

When we were living in the Highlands, we were going to church occasionally at Pathways, which K&P introduced us to. We enjoyed the lead pastor and (most of) the associate pastors. But then the music gal left and that was disheartening for me. She was a breath of fresh air and her style was SO remarkably different from what I was used to that, while it was shocking, it was new and exciting and .... refreshing. I was sad when she left. Very sad. Then we moved back to suburbia and Pathways simply became too far of a drive to be reasonable.

Back to square one.

We tried another Covenant church, but went to maybe the wrong service (wrong, as in, time-of-day). Still...meh.

We went to the church we got married in and rather enjoyed that, but again...it's a bit far away to go every single week. However, it might be worth checking out again. It's Episcopalian, but with a bit of flair (and electronics).

We tried another non-denominational church and started to feel really comfortable there until just last week. I love it because of the music (for obvious reasons) and Todd appreciates the life-application portions of the sermon.

But last week....oh hoo-dee-hoo! What a disappointing sermon. Facts all messed up. Ethnocentrism at its finest. I mean, yowza.

So my question is this: Do we have to settle on a church? Are we too picky? What should we really be looking for? Should we give the "old church" another chance, despite how we've been hurt and disappointed in the past?

I'm totally lost right now.

Damn you, May!

How did May leak over into June?!?

Every time I turn around, this month, I feel like once something is straightened out, another thing gets all jacked up.

Case #1
I finally figured out with my CLAS advisor at school what I'm still required to take and what's completed and how much longer I really have. I'm right on track and he's let me know exactly where I stand through Fall 2009. I'll graduate Fall 2010, which makes me very happy. He eased my concerns about graduation substantially so I'm all clear there. BUT..........
I get an email this morning from financial aid saying that I owe nearly $3000! How is this possible when I filled out that God-forsaken FAFSA back in March/April? Oh, don't fret. The reminder email I got in March re: the FAFSA didn't say that it was specifically for Fall 2009-Spring 2010 and that I have to fill out ANOTHER form to get financial aid for Summer 2009. Oh so helpful. Fortunately, I was able to get that filled out and turned in today and should have an award package in the next week or so. On a side note: my confusion continues as I have not received a check for the unused portion of my Spring 2009 loans. Whatever...for now.

Case #2
Everything at work got handled prior to the end of May, which is nothing short of a miracle given the insanity and nature of our work that month. Many phone calls and emails and meetings later, everything got taken care of, bound up and billed. Phew! Break out the champagne! EXCEPT THAT....
Now there's all kinds of accounting craziness! I seriously cannot get any information that I need in an appropriate manner. WTF?!? I mean, honestly. If I tell someone something and they agree to those terms, that's what stands, right?? You can't just arbitrarily change the terms after you've already agreed to what we talked about two days ago...AAARRRGGGHHH!!!

My team should get, at the very least, a paid long-ass weekend once May is over. Unfortunately, I am not in charge of PTO...sadly. But we are going out for lunch tomorrow, which will be a welcome relief, honestly.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Slowing down is nice

Finally, coming to the office doesn't strike fear into my very core. Yay for MAY BEING OVER!!! We made it, even if we came out the other side a little bit bruised. Ah well. The silver lining, I suppose, is that I learned a lot...especially about anger management. I seem to learn that a bit more every May, which is really funny to me.

Last weekend, we all went camping for the first time this season up in Pike National Forest. Decker's is one of my favorite places to camp...I have a ton of great memories from camping there with my youth group in high school...it is, after all, where I first discovered that a serving size of Twizzlers is 3 pieces...woot woot! And it has since become a staple camping food for me.

Todd and I also just bought a TON of new camping gear which we were able to use for the first time ever! I've never had quality gear before so it was nice to break that out and discover how incredibly easy it was to set up our new tent! I got Todd a Marmot sleeping bag which, hilariously, has a "stash pocket" hidden on the inside (tee hee!)...it's actually even labeled as such, which just makes me laugh. My sleeping bag is pretty grey and periwinkle so I love it...and it's rated to 20F which makes it super duper warm although I froze my little bum off Saturday night because our sleeping pads didn't get to us on time so we were sleeping directly on the ground. Goo!

Yesterday, I bought us a messkit with service for four, just like the one my parents had when I was a kid...I love it! Can't wait to use it for the first time...yay yay yay! Camping is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do because a) it's cheap and b) it's wicked fun and kooky.

I'm in the middle of working out some kinks in my college education. UCD has some crappy dual advising system where I have to talk to one person about my major requirements and another person about my core requirements. I'm speaking with the latter today to be sure that the non-English courses I'm taking the next two semesters will satisfy several remaining requirements. I'm VERY nervous that I'm about to have to push back my graduation another semester, which might kill me. I'm on the verge of giving up, frankly. But the amount of money I've spent keeps me going at this point.

Also, this morning started off perfectly, including Todd making all the fixin's for amazing breakfast burritos...yum! It was like a Saturday morning. The only thing that could have made it better was it actually being a Saturday morning :o)

Friday, May 29, 2009

Just in case...

This morning, I went a little bat crazy around the house after Todd had left for work. With 25 minutes remaining until I had to leave for work, I was left with some pretty serious time to do something around the house.

Generally speaking, I hate clutter. That doesn't mean that I maintain a state of organization (unless you count organized chaos...I always know where just about everything is, even if it's in some random pile on the floor), but I do hate clutter. I'd like to live a very minimalized life (like K&P appear to live...their apartment is nice and clean every time I'm there), but it just doesn't happen on a regular basis.

So this morning, and with a hopefully-pending move looming in September, I went a little nuts on the house. Shredded a ton of bills and other misc. items, packed away the balance on Christmas crap (don't judge), got a box ready to take down to the garage, purged my vases collection (Todd is a master at sending me just the right flowers, but the subsequent vase collection is overwhelming), attacked the desk cabinetry with a vengeance and still managed to be in the car one minute prior to departure time. Holy crap.

Suki seems to get nervous when I spend too long working in the guest room. So she watches me like a hawk. I always remind her that she's coming with us wherever we go and that our next move will have a big yard for her to play in. Leo couldn't really care less.

At any rate, I did some serious purging this morning and fully intend to do more when we get home from camping on Sunday.

Holler!

Oh and if you know anyone that might be interested in buying my old car, please pass along my information.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

You will not soon forget this.

So sayeth my knees to my brain after running the Bolder Boulder.

This will serve as my "update" from last weekend, now that I'm finally finding the time to do that!

I love long weekends and tend to "live 'em up" as best I can without killing myself...and boy, did we do that last weekend!

Friday night was date night (as it always is) so we went to Gordon Biersch for dinner and indulged in the best hamburger known to man, margaritas for me and beers for Todd. Then we went and saw Wolverine which was good as far as that's concerned (and Hugh Jackman is nothing to balk at....homina-homina!), but the story line had some spots that made absolutely no sense to me. But at face value, a good action-y superhero movie...I'm glad we finally got to see it!

Saturday was mostly me just hanging around after going for an early morning run with Todd in preparation for the BB. I'll give it to Tony....running in A.M. is probably my favorite time to do that! We run a route that takes us through some of the best parts of Arvada (yes, they do exist) and it was just so peaceful that morning! By the time Todd got home from Writers Group, I was itching to go to the mall and FINALLY do my Build-A-Bear that Todd got me for Christmas! I got a cute little grey kitten and dressed him in Batman jammies...his name is Bonecrusher. Some of you will know why that's his name :o) Then it was off to Kelly's for movie/dinner theme night. This is one of my favorite things that happens in the summertime, honestly. We pick a movie and find some kind of corresponding dinner and all get together for a grand ol' time. This time, it was Breakfast At Tiffany's and breakfast foods...yum! Karla made the evenin'gs best offering - her mom's famous morning casserole. I had two servings and threatened to eat everyone else's helpings...it was that good. Way to go, Karla!

Sunday was a fun day in Boulder, after church, with M, P & H...M and I got henna tattoos (which are frankly way more effort than I think they're worth. We're getting jewelry next year), Todd got an eccentric writer's hat, P got a free chiropractic adjustment and H got...a bottle.
H in Todd's (other) hat, loving life

Monday was THE BIG DAY!! Up and at 'em by 5:30am and at the start line by 7:30am (after a brief pit stop at an apartment complex's clubhouse to use their bathrooms rather than Port-a-Potty's)...I was rocking out to the random music being played at the start, while eating a banana and sucking down water.
L & R met the three of us at the start and opted to run with us rather than start in their own heat (about 15mins prior to ours) so that was fun! I'm still in a bit of shock that I ran the entire thing and did it in 66:43!! It was incredibly exciting! I've never had runner's high and still haven't had it, but I came very close when I got to the end and said, out loud, "Yeah. I could totally do that again, very soon!" We stayed around for a little while longer, watching people run in to the stadium while enjoying Michelob ultra (in a can...classy), hot dogs and various edible swag contained in our post-consumer recycled lunch sacks from Celestial Seasonings...YAY!

After a quick shower and nap, it was off to celebrate L&R's new house in Wash Park, which is quite lovely!

Now it's back to the grind...and has been that for nearly a week.

Who wants to go running???

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Now that things are slowing down...

I can actually make an attempt to catch up on life. SUPER!

Not that much has really been going on in the last few weeks. I've been über-stressed because of work. It's the nature of the beast really. Seasonal stuff is absolute madness. I can't keep numbers straight, I have found it hard to sleep and thus stay awake, and I can do little more than watch trash television while trying to distract myself from eating trash food.

Fortunately, school has ended for the semester and the madness of work is starting to calm down just enough that I don't wish for a bullet to meet my head every day. So that's good news!

I'm already ready for another break though. We're going to Seattle for my sister's graduation in June and we're very very excited about that. Four days away from Denver will be a relief and being able to celebrate one of the biggest accomplishments in my sisters life, thus far, will be extraordinary! She's worked so hard the last two years on her graduate degree...she's gone through a lot and too much and it's all finally coming to a head. She'll be DONE! It's very exciting, to say the least!

After that, we have to wait until August for our next big adventure when we hop a ship to Alaska. It's too far away to think about right now, so I digress.

Todd and I are (quite literally) running our asses off lately in preparation for the Bolder Boulder. I shaved 2mins off my time the other night and Todd shaved another minute off last night. I intend to do the same tonight. All I know is that I MUST be able to sprint the last 1/4 mile of the race, through the stadium. So that's the goal for tonight's workout (even if I have to do it inside because of all the damn fog and cold)...70mins of running with at least 1min of sprinting at the end. And that had better cover 6.2miles...or else.

In other, highly unanticipated, very random news: Todd and I are considering buying our first house. With the first-time home buyer's credit of $8000, it's insane not to look. We just need to chat with some lenders, realtors and our parents (for the advice factor) and see what we come up with. It would be nice to have our own place, but that does come with it's own set of (occasionally very expensive) issues. I'd love for the pups to have their own yard, for one. I'd also like to come "home" to my wonderful husband and our two adorable pups and not have to fight for parking spaces or be annoyed by rude smokers in the breezeways or trashy teenagers at the pool. There are pros and cons to each situation, I know. It's just something we're tossing around.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Micah v. May....so it has come to this.

I hate this month. Why, you ask? Because work makes me want to put a bullet in my head nearly every day. It's too busy right now. So busy, in fact, that because there is just so much to do, I don't want to do ANYTHING.

I should enjoy this month much more. School ends for the semester, my birthday, summer is well on it's way...all things that I enjoy. And yet, all I can do is hope that it goes screaming past me so that the madness just ends.

And now that school is over for the next 3 weeks, I think I'll take some time to remember some of what happened this month.

First, we went on our first hiking trip of the year, but to Cub Lake in RMNP. It was absolutely beautiful and we got to share it with M,P & H, which was a lot of fun. It was a good way to break in the new boots and gear up for the season. I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy this a lot. And as I'm writing this, I'm pretty sure that I've already discussed this in a different entry. Ah, madness is slowly setting in.


Next came my birthday. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I remembered that my birthday was upon me. The day just comes and ... that's that. This year, it was on a Saturday, which was glorious. Todd took me for breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants in our old 'hood, Kyle's Kitchen, and I got to have an English muffin and cream of wheat with brown sugar...a personal favorite (really, I just love hot cereal...mmmm....)! Then I spent the afternoon alone cleaning up and putting some finishing touches on a school project. By late-afternoon, it was time to head to my pin-up girl photo shoot, which was spectacular! I felt so ANTM...and got a lot of really nice photos of me done...then it was off to M&Ps house for Cinco de Drinko with lots of good friends. Party lasted until about midnight which was purrrrfect! It was a ton of fun and just nice to relax and laugh with people I love.

School ended for me officially on Tuesday, but the semester is *actually* over on Saturday. Whatever. I've been done since Tuesday. I think I did well on my final that night and hopefully that will pan out in the gradebook. I really enjoyed all my classes this semester, ass-kicking as it may have been. It felt good, most of the time, to be challenged the way that I was. But don't kid yourself...I'm way ready for a break.

I'm teaching myself how to run, as well. Todd and I are running the Bolder Boulder this year, which is one of the biggest 10Ks in the state. It's on Memorial Day so I have one more week to get into shape for it. I did 6.2miles this evening in 1:13:30 which is about 7mins faster than I was predicting for myself. But damn did my right leg start hurting toward the end. I walked the entire last half-mile, which will be totally unacceptable at the actual Bolder Boulder. I think I would have completed my run faster tonight had I not gotten a horrible cramp in my right foot. Boo hiss. But really, the fact is, I finished 6.2miles...a feat I have never even dreamed possible.

I've been wanting to do the BB for several years now, sort of in honor of my mom. She ran every year for as long as I can remember and then her knees just gave out on her. Ever since then, I've wanted to do the BB at least ONCE before mine do the same. I have terrible knees so while I'd like to run the BB every year till I'm at least 35, I won't be surprised if I can't. So this year is it. And the BB is on my list of things to do this year and I'm very excited for it.

Turning 29 this year has been hard on me. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Happy birthday to me!

Yes, I forgot...again. Sort of. I mean, I know that tomorrow is my birthday, but I typically always just let it slip my brain until that day.

Today, I walked into my office to find it covered in all things pirate. I asked "What inspired the pirates?" and my office-mate said "Because of your cruise!" (to Alaska...in August). It's hilarious. Chandra looked up all kinds of pirate-y phrases and then some random quotes from Pirates of the Caribbean...and my window and desk are covered in photos of Johnny Depp. What a tragedy *wink wink*

It is absolutely outrageous...I love it! haha!

And Sue got me a nice card with a gift card to Starbucks and well-wishes for "happy studying"...she knows that I eat lunch at my desk every day so that I can spend my official lunch hour studying at the Bux...very thoughtful of her...

Tomorrow will be a glorious birthday, starting with an early morning run with Todd, then breakfast at a favorite old haunt, then relaxin', then birthday present time from Todd, then Cinco de Drinko with the crew. Weather be damned...tomorrow is going to be spectacular!

At least it won't be snowing!

Friday, May 1, 2009

Look out, Rocky Mountains!

It has come to my attention, in recent months, that I am not a "winter" Colorado girl. Rather, I prefer the warm. I love when it's blazing hot in the city and 70-75F in the mountains. I love tooling about by Boulder Creek and going to Blackhawk for picnics and camping off of Hwy 285 (no idea where, but I've been there twice and it's perfection) and while I bitched heavily about it when I was younger, I do enjoy hiking.

I love skiing, don't get me wrong, but if I only go 1 -3 times a season, my heart isn't broken. I just haaaaaaaate being cold! So spring skiing is for me (and for Todd, as well) and we've made a pact to go hiking as much as we can this spring/summer/fall.

I'm VERY excited! We have our first foray into hiking this weekend with M, P & H, weather permitting. We're staying at these super swank cabins tomorrow night in Estes Park and then heading into RMNP on Sunday to get our feet wet (probably literally). I've done a LOT of hiking in my day and even did a 14-er when I was 10 or 12 or something. All I know is that every time I've gone hiking, I tennis-shoed it up and went for it!

So when M asked Todd and me what our hiking shoes situation was and he told her I was planning on bringing my trusty tennies, she about fell out of her chair. "Meet me at REI at 630pm" she tell me.

So Todd and I made our way to REI, a store which I have absolutely no business being in, and M took it upon herself to show me all the shoes that I could try on to make for a reasonable, safe and fun hiking season.

I wound up trying on 4 pairs and walking all over the store and up and down their little mountain test-your-shoes-out thingy and I would up loving these ones:


M bought them for me as an early birthday present and Todd and I got him some awesome LOMAs and we each got a pair of good wool socks. I'm wearing my shoes today to start getting the broken in before the weekend and so far, I totally love them! They're incredibly heavy compared to what I'm used to having on my feet (3.5" stilettos and standard running shoes) so that'll take some getting used to. But so far, very very good!

Also, I ran 3.1 miles in 35mins last night which is a massive accomplishment for me...and I did that outside, not on the treadmill. Yay!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Huh. Turns out, rejection still sucks.

I got an email earlier thanking me for auditioning for the Broncos and that if I am getting a call back, it either will have already happened or will happen today. So far, no calls.

Maybe it's because I'm extremely tired and overworked right now, but I think I could cry over not getting a call back. I know I said that I could handle it, but the sheer amount of exhaustion that I'm experiencing right now is almost too much to handle.

I had a co-worker ask me today if I was doing all right and if I needed to go out for lunch/drinks with her to discuss anything, completely off the records. I appreciated her sentiments more than I could express. I just really need for May to be over...for reasons related to both work and school. So far, I have been able to manage the stress remarkably well. But the last few days/weeks have been overwhelming in ways that I can't possibly describe.

Maybe it's the mark of maturity and/or responsibility, but the idea of getting completely trashed next weekend for Cinco de Drinko sounds far less than appealing. Having a good time with my friends, absolutely. But I know that I need to wake up the next morning and finish off the semester and I'll likely need most of the day to do that.

I mostly just don't have time for fun anymore. Todd and I are going cabin-ing and hiking with M, P & H this weekend and I already know (and have told everyone) that I have to bring my laptop and homework with me to finalize two very significant projects, which are due on Sunday...and I most assuredly have to be home by 7pm at the very very latest so that I can post the assignments to my online classes.

Just thinking about it is stressing me out.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Once Disney rejects you, you can take just about anything...

This blog is dedicated to Laura, for forwarding me the info that I needed.

As some (or most) of you may know, one of my goals in life is to sing the National Anthem at a major sporting event, preferably the Super Bowl, but I'll take anything.

So when Laura texted me the other day some information on the Broncos Talent Search, I immediately emailed my producer to ask if he could quickly record an updated version of the anthem by last Saturday. Thankfully, he had time to record me on Friday night, weather be damned! We did several takes in several keys and finally found one that was worth a crap and he mixed it beautifully and put it on a CD (along with a song he and my BFF recorded a couple weeks ago in Nashville) for my forwarding pleasure.

Today, I popped a copy of the CD in the mail along with my application in hopes that it reaches Broncos Talent HQ by the deadline of April 23rd (which it should since it's local mail). They'll do call backs in the next couple days or so and then a final live audition on May 2nd at DU and they'll call the finalists by May 11th.

This is kind of a big deal to me and I really hope that I get at least a call back, but I'm also VERY aware that there are tons of people out there than can massively out-perform me on the Anthem. So my expectations are low. I still need to re-send to the Rockies and the Rapids. I'd love to audition for the Avs, but they have a permanent professional.

Fingers crossed!

Friday, April 17, 2009

I still hate winter driving...

We bought a new car last night.

New to us anyway.

It's kind of a long story how we got it, but it's the exact car we've been wanting and we got a screaming deal on it!

It's a 2008 Subaru Impreza 2.5i, dark grey metallic with black interior, manual transmission, and fully fully loaded...woo hoo!!! It's such a sweet car. Todd has been wanting to get me into a safer winter driving car since I have to drive up and down the mountain every single day, and I tell you want...this morning, in this horrible weather, that little Subaru powered up the hill without a single problem! Way to go, Stabilitrac! Probably my new favorite feature of all time...I love not sliding all over the damn place when I hit patches of snow and/or ice. Don't get me wrong. I still ahte driving in the winter (and kind of can't blieve my office is open right now), but knowing that I'm in a safe vehicle that can actually go (and stop ) in the snow makes it a little easier on me.

The funny thing is that this is the first major, non-electronics purchs that Todd and I have made together. And while the car is technically "mine" (I'll be driving it primarily), we're both on the registration and the loan so it's actually both of ours. Todd has made the executive decision that he'll be driving the car at least once a week in non-winter months, because it is that bad ass and he doesn't look like a tool driving it (like he would if I'd gotten a Mini Cooper with pink racing stripes). Let's just keep our fingers crossed that he and I can keep the speeds to a minimum and not get pulled over!

Todd has also made the decision that the pups are not allowed in the car for at least the first year. There's a pet car cover thing at Bed, Bath & Beyond that I want to get, but even with that, Todd isn't all that interested in having Leo-hair all over the place like it is in good ol' Kate the Neon.

Speaking of names, the new car needs one. I'm open to suggestions. The only requirements are that it has to be a girl name and it can't be something I'd potentially name a child (which sucks because I really like the names Lily and Kate and I blew it by using those for vehicle names hahaha!)...so far, I'm interested in Madeline, but since it's Todd's car too, he has to agree to the name as well...

Monday, April 13, 2009

Happy birthday, puppies!

One year ago today, we adopted our pups, Leo & Suki...and what a great year it's been! Road trips and hotel stays, garbage eating and hiking, treats, treats and more treats!

We're so glad we adopted the little boogers and can't wait for many many more years with them!





The weather was a little too crappy yesterday to take them to the park for their birthday, but since they're dogs and don't know that it's their birthday, we'll just go next weekend when it's a bit warmer...or whenever... :o)

Monday, April 6, 2009

Clutter be gone!

Saturday proved to be a rather miraculous day. Not only did it not snow (which I am ever so grateful for…not a fan of snow in the spring), but Todd and I were able to heavily de-clutter our “office” and get rid of / donate:

1 giant box of books

1 giant box of knick-knacky crap

2 baby gates (formerly for use with the pups)

1 box fan

1 giant bag of clothing

Several misc. bath towels

2 pillows

1 bed comforter

1 ironing board

And finally, 1 enormous bag of trash and misc. crap that no one would want or need.


Our office is starting to look more functional than just a space to store our junk. There’s still a lot of stuff in there to go through but you wouldn’t believe how sparse it looks just with all the above out of there. It’s amazing!


I’ve been wanting to de-clutter our house for a really long time and the office was a good place to start. We just have way too much stuff. It’s nice to get rid of things that we just don’t use or need. I would like to continue this mission by tackling my closet. Oof. There’s a LOT of stuff in there that I probably don’t need.


De-cluttering the house might be my new favorite stress release.