Sept. 12 - first snowfall

That's right - it snowed on us yesterday in the mountains. Tony and I went hiking yesterday to St. Mary's Glacier. It was 39 degrees and flakes were coming down on us as we drove up to the trailhead.
I would rate the hike as moderately difficult. It was only about 1 mile up, but it was rocky the whole way. It was beautiful up at the glacier though! The lake below it was like glass. There were people snowboarding and skiing down the glacier, so that was fun to see. We're going to look into camping up there. When we got back home it was only 48 in Denver!! It was so nice to have cool weather - much needed.

Beef Stroganoff

Yesterday was a day for a warm comfort dinner - so I made stroganoff. This was the first time I have ever made it. It was very easy and made quite a bit!
Braise the meat in a bit of EVOO. After browning on all the sides I took it out of the pot and sauted my onions and mushrooms. Then I added about a cup and 1/2 of red wine and put the meat back in in. Add 1 can cream of mushroom soup with a bit of water and about 1/2 cup of cream. I added frozen peas as well, but that is optional. Salt and pepper. Let simmer for about 30 minutes. I cooked my no yolk noodles for only 5 minutes - added to the meat and cooked for another 10 minutes of so.

How do you like them apples?

I made an amazing apple pie tonight. I picked the apples from my tree - cored and peeled them, made my crust and viola! Sooo good!
This was the first time I made my own crust. My grandma would be so proud. It definitely wasn't the prettiest - but that's not what matters this go around. I followed the recipe for the pie filling some what - except I boiled the thinly sliced apples in a small amount of water with a cinnamon stick for about 10-15 minutes. Then I drained them, added 2 Cups of Sugar, some cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg, then poured it in pie crust, and cooked it at 350 for 35 minutes.
Tony said it looked better than a Betty pie, what a complement!

On another note I am thinking of starting an additional blog. Dedicated to my LOVE of food, both eating and cooking. Yes, I did just see Julie and Julia (HIGHLY recommend it), so maybe that is where some of the inspiration comes from. I guess I just saw so much of myself in that movie. It made me cry a few times during the movie because it hit home so hard. But I have ALWAYS loved to cook and try new things - so I might give it a shot. See, I say this now while I'm on my school break, so I might have to put it off, but I'm throwing it out there all the same. It's a way for me to be creative, document it and share it.

Fish Tacos....so good!

I've been craving fish tacos all week, and I thought instead of going to my fav restaurant I figured I would cut costs and just make some at home. They are so good! Definitely my favorite (I have probably mentioned this in the past). I made the coleslaw according to this recipe, but I cut the sugar to 1 cup, and it was still to much - I like my with more tang.
The salsa is homemade and the fish taco seasons is from simply organic. I used cod because I like the fish to be a bit thicker and not flaky.
Bon Appetit!

A man named Bob

My first boss when I started working for the government was Bob. He was the first person I got to meet from my new office - he came and ate lunch with me on my second day of induction. He was very kind and gave me, a nervous and overwhelmed girl, a warm feeling that I was going to be ok. He was very specific about his last name and the pronunciation of it. He gave me all his contact info and when he left I felt a little bit better about this huge decision I had just made.
Over the course of working with him for almost 3 years I witnessed how kind he was to everyone. EVERYONE! He never spoke harshly, was always understanding, and most importantly to me - he was a man of God. He truly was a witness - the kind I feel that all Christians are called to be. He wasn't evangelical in the sense that he walked around proselytizing, he did it by his actions and his words.
Last night Bob passed away. Suddenly. This morning when I got to work I found out. And my heart wretched to be with my friends, with my old colleagues. The people who had helped me to grow and develop when I felt so lost. They all know the Bob that I know, his quirky sense of humor and miscellaneous accidents that we always laughed at and said "oh Bob". I can hear it now, I can close my eyes and I'm there. But I'm not there, I'm thousands of miles away. We talked on the phone and it really helped for me to not feel so alone in my grieving.
Bob left behind 2 children, one still young, and a wife. He also left behind many friends and admirers. Most of all though, he left behind a legacy. A legacy of kindness and diligence. He loved what he did and he did it well. He did it with a smile and with a kind word for everybody.
Maybe if we all just had a little more of Bob in us, the world would be a better place. My world is a better place for having known him.
This probably doesn't make any sense except to those who were there, for that I'm sorry if this excludes people. But I was trying to think today of times that were so funny with Bob, and the one I keep going back to was the day we all ate lunch together and Bob was telling his story of his brother's dog and Irene asked him if he wore a mustache because he had been attacked. I hope my friends can find a smile when they read this - and they know that I love them, and I wish I was there to hug each one of them, and go through this together.

Mmmm...salsa

I've been trying a few different salsa recipes - but this one is the best so far (the Authentic Mexican one). I roast the Hatch Green Chiles, but I don't roast the Anaheim. I also roast the tomatoes to peel them instead of sticking them in boiling water. I also didn't add the cilantro. Tony doesn't particularly like it - so we think it's great without it.
Oh, and have you seen the new tostitos with a hint of jalepeno? Awesome!

Can you hear my sigh of relief? Can you?

I am done. I just finished my finance final. It's as good as it's going to get. Ahhh, I am so relieved....and so ready for our vacation!!!!

Gardening, one of the good things about suberbia

We have had such a great time gardening this year. It was one of the things we were looking forward to the most in having our own home with a yard! We are growing (some of it is already through for the year) sweet corn, bell peppers, green onions, purple onions, lima beans, black eye peas, pumpkins, jalapenos, basil, rosemary, tons of tomatoes, arugula, romaine lettuce, and strawberries.
We have enjoyed it so much - and the veggies have all been awesome. We have only had a few red tomatoes but the plants are dripping with green ones. And we tried a couple of the corn - they were tasty but the kernels were super small. The squash have been really good too and we've had so many we've been able to share with our neighbor. If all the tomatoes turn at once I'm going to attempt to can some of them and make my own marinara sauce. That should be interesting.
We also have an apple tree in the back yard. Poor thing - it's limbs look like they are going to break it is so heavy with apples. And this is after 2 hail storms! The apples are not quite ready but I think they will be after we get back from Minnesota. With those I think I'll blanch and freeze most of them but I'm also going to attempt applesause. Well, that's my intention....but we all know how well my intentions usually turn out. :( I'll probably run out of time and try to give most of them away!
Tomorrow I'm going to plant a fall crop - beans and cabbage. I'm not sure how early it is going to freeze here, but I'm sure I'll get a least a bit from this planting.

BWCA here we come!

Tony and I have been wanting to go canoeing/portaging for a few years now. We kept saying we were going to go and FINALLY we are going! We got our reservation back in April and it looks like it's going to be a pretty good spot. We are entering on Monday morning and exiting on Wednesday night. I'm really needing this break...from work...from school. 3 days of doing nothing but paddling around, taking pictures, taking naps, fishing, mainly just enjoying the company of Tony and nature.
We are driving up to Minnesota since we need to take so much stuff and we are taking Kirby. Tony's folks are going to watch him for us while we are up in the Boundary Waters. This will be so much better than trying to kennel him, plus he gets to play with his best friend Champ!
We still need to get a few things, but for the most part we have been preparing for this for a couple of years. For the past Christmas's we have gotten a tent and sleeping bags, and other really nice camping items.
We have been to the Boundary Waters before with Tony's parents, Will and Dan. This was probably 5 years ago though. We rented a cabin and although it had bats and spiders, we definitely weren't roughing it. But it was amazing and beautiful - we still laugh about some of the things that happened. GREAT memories!
On top of it all we get to be in Minnesota with family and friends. It's been 2 years since we've been there for a summer visit. Will and Andrea are having a engagement party so we'll get to spend some time in the Cities as well. It's a long drive (about 17 hours) but we'll drive through the night and it really isn't that bad!
Hopefully we'll have some really great pics to share!
Here's some pics from a couple of years ago -
Tony and I up on the land
Tony and Waylon
Me and Danny at their Aunts cabin

Dr. Ouch! Why I NOW hate the dentist

Let me start by saying that I have NEVER minded going to the dentist. In fact, I usually like it. I like getting my teeth cleaned and when I have a tooth ache I look forward to going because I know that when I leave I am going to feel better. We went for a few years without dental insurance and it sucked. My whole life I have had dental work done, so then when we finally got insurance I went and had to have a root canal and a crown and a few fillings. It wasn't that bad. That was 2005 when I had that done. I actually only had a temp crown put on that I wore for a couple of years. Then I saved up my money and got a real crown. A back story: I had all 4 wisdom teeth taken out when I was 18. With only novicane. And really through it all - it wasn't too bad. Afterwards I probably had to take an ibuprophen - but otherwise it was never bad.
And now I know why people hate going to the dentist.
We found a new dentist recently. He said that one of my molars was cracked and I needed a crown on that tooth. Now I didn't 100% believe him, but I thought, he's a medical professional, and if he says it's cracked it probably is. So I saved up my money for a couple of months and went and got a crown. And now I completely regret it. I should have gone with my gut feeling that said "don't trust this guy". First of all, after they drilled my tooth down to a nub and put on the temporary I was in enormous pain! I thought the side of my head was going to blow up - I was extremely swollen and had so much pressure. Then for the entire week afterwards I was constantly taken advil. My tooth and my entire mouth hurt so bad. I've never had a lasting pain like that from getting dental work. Finally the second week the pain let up but then I had to go in to get my permanent crown. I told them how bad it had been but the tech and the dentist just brushed it off. Then he only gave me enough novicane for about 15 minutes - because that is all that it should have taken. Then 40 minutes later he came to get started on my tooth!!! When he pulled the temporary off the tech shot air on it and I almost came unglued! It felt like an open nerve had been touched. Tears just burst out of me and I couldn't get ahold of myself. He rushed through the rest of it to get it done but it was still bad. I was so angry when I left there I couldn't even speak to the doctor.
It just sucks to pay so much money and to expect so much from a professional then to be so let down. It shouldn't be this hard to find an honest doctor.

104 degrees at Midnight aka Visitng Amy in Phoenix

I went to visit Amy the second weekend of July. My first trip to Phoenix. I knew it was going to be hot....but no idea how hot. It was beautiful - so much prettier than I thought it was going to be, but the heat? Yuck!
Amy has been living there for over a year and this was my first visit, I'm a bad sister. But I finally made it and we had a WONDERFUL visit! It was so much fun - we shopped around and ate out and went swimming (yeah - that lasted for about an hour before I couldn't take the heat even being in the pool).
We also went to the Grand Canyon - Amazing! It was overwhelming and I loved it! We stopped by Flagstaff on our way up and got to see Jenni and Rob's place! I'm so glad that Jenni had the afternoon off and got to come with us to the GC. We had such a great visit! Just a girls day trip - gossiping, laughing, getting to see Condors! After we got back to Flag met up with Rob and went to a little pub in town. We got back to Phoenix around midnight and yes, it was 104 degrees.
It was such a great trip and it was just what I needed - to get away, relax, and just enjoy my time with my sita.

Robin's visit

Robin flew out for the 4th of July and we had a great time! We were so glad to see an old friend! The day after she got here we went to Red Rocks to see Celtic Women - which was awesome! It was really cool to see them in an outside venue like that. Robin and I had gone to see them a couple of years ago in Baltimore and they were beautiful, so when I saw they were going to be here I really wanted to go with her again!
We went up to Vail another one of the days and got to explore around. Tony and I hadn't been up there yet. It was really pretty and it was like you would expect as far as people driving around in their hummers and 3 fur shops in this tiny village! There was a woman trying one on and it was such a crack up to listen to her talk about how she already had a couple but needed another one. She mostly goes to cocktail parties and does things for her daughter's school. WHAT? It's crazy the amount of money dripping around places like that. We ate at a little German restaurant that was really good and it was nice to just chat and catch up.
Another of the days we went up to Eldorado Canyon State Park, but they were at capacity and wouldn't let anyone else in. So we just drove on to Boulder and walked around. They have a nice farmers market and it's always fun to see the people sitting around playing music.
We'll be looking forward to the next visit! Hopefully we can plan to spend a few days in New Mexico exploring around.

Family visits

This summer has been so chaotic. We've had a lot of fun, but it's been busy. I can't believe it's almost August! What happened?
My parents came up the first weekend of June. They left on a Sunday morning and Tony's parents drove in that Sunday night. They spent a few days with us, flew to see Tony's sister, then came back and spent another weekend here. We had a blast! It's always so good to get to spend time with family. It's so nice to now have extra bedrooms and beds to have company! We're not crammed and trying to share a bathroom.
Here's some pics of our time together.

While Tony's parents and Daniel were visiting we went and rode the Royal Gorge train. It was beautiful. The train runs right alongside the river and we saw a lot of rafters. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon.
MARMOT! That was what Tony shouted right after we saw this little guy. He then proceeded to scatter away. I wouldn't call it running as this little thing is so fat! They are really cute though. And yes, that's snow up there. It was SO COLD!! It was 27 degrees at the top of Mt. Evans. We couldn't even get out of the car for more than a few minutes. There were people up there getting ready to snow board down.
So much snow! I thought there would be snow at the top, but there was quite a bit more on the drive up than I thought there would be.
Putting around - we found a nice little 9 hole course that's really good to walk. We had such a fun time, Tony and I forgot how much we love to play.

Words about an Amazing Lady

My great grandmother passed away on Thursday morning, June 25th. She was 94 years old, and I am one of the luckiest people I know because I had the opportunity to grow up with her and know her. How many people do you know that still have a great grandparent at the age of 28? Not many.
She had suffered a stroke in May, but had gotten better, then the night before she died she had another one.
She was one of the strongest women I have ever/will ever know. She raised most of her 8 brothers, plus her own children. She had stories of when she was little and they would travel by horse and wagon! Isn't that crazy? How much the world changed in her lifetime?
I will miss her greatly - but I have the best memories to treasure. She and my great grandfather used to watch me and my sister when we were little and we would watch Young and the Restless with them and eat green apples. It's those little things that count so much. She would teach us how to sew and let us play with whatever we found.
I've been wanting to post this for a while, but I wasn't sure what to write. Because no matter what I write it won't be enough...it won't do justice. I just miss her. My heart will ache for a long time at the loss, that I won't see her when I go home anymore, that I won't get a grandma kiss from her again.

Mmmmm, Summer Salad

I made the best salad tonight! I looked at a recipe online and then added some of my own ideas - it turned out VERY good! So good that I wanted to share it.
I roasted 2 ears of corn with a red bell pepper and a green bell pepper as well as an onion and a tomato.
The lettuce part consisted of spinach, arugala (home grown!), and some romaine. I added cheese and black beans and avacado to it as well.
For the dressing I put ranch and salsa together.
On top of it all I crumbled up some chips.
Delish!! It was such a good dinner after a hot summer day.

So many books....so little time

I miss reading for pleasure. I thought I would read a lot more on my week and a half break from school. Instead I painted one of the spare rooms (pics to come - I'm still not quite finished). Painting always takes so much more time than I think it will - and it's always much more messy. My new bed spread (a la Sarah moving to England) is now speckled yellow. But I think it's going to turn out great.

Tony's mom let me borrow her book "The Box Children" and I couldn't put it down. I finished it in 2 days. It was a quick read - about a girl growing up in the Texas panhandle with a crazy mom. It was somewhat depressing but it was a page turner.



I've also been reading "The Element". Background on this book: My management professor from last quarter gave it to me as a gift. I wasn't quite sure what she meant by "a gift" because she used that word quite a bit in class referencing the different material we were going over - or clips of speakers - or presentations - they were "gifts". She gave me the book because I had been disappointed in one of our advising sessions - it wasn't necessary, but she did it because she said she felt bad. (WHAT? Have you ever heard of a compassionate professor who actually cares what her students feel? One of the reasons I LOVED this class so much!) So I'm taking this book as an actual gift - a present. What do you think? Should I give it back to her after I read it?

This book is really good so far. I'm enjoying learning about all these people who found what they are good at, pursued it, and excelled. Isn't that every one's dream? To LOVE your job so much that it is no longer just a job?



I would love to get paid to read...at least I think I would. But maybe I wouldn't love it as much if I had to do it in order to get a paycheck? Nah, I would still love it. I can't get enough of books. You should see my "to read" list. It gets longer every day. So I've thought I would love to go into editing, but I am picky and wouldn't want to be editing math books. Maybe I would enjoy teaching people to read? Perhaps ESL? I also enjoy reading for people - one of the best jobs I have ever had was when I worked at the community college and I read text books for blind and dyslexic students. I LEARNED so much - even the subjects I didn't enjoy I still learned from. All because of reading an pre-nursing text book into a recorder I now know that the Penile Gland is pronounced "Pen - ill", NOT "pee-nul". BIG DIFFERENCE - unfortunately Tony didn't catch me saying that incorrectly until I was almost through with that chapter......I just hope the student listening knew I was pronouncing it incorrectly!

10 years since High School?!?

Wow - Am I really that old? Yes... I am. 28 is much better than 18 though. And it keeps getting better.
My reunion is next weekend. I have decided not to go. Many reasons (or excuses), but I thought about it and I'm not going to do it. I didn't just start thinking about it recently - I've thought about it for a while. A for that entire while I knew I wouldn't go.
There's too much water under the bridge and then there's not enought water under the bridge. Does that make sense?
I have kept in touch with a few people that I went to HS with - people I love and I care about and that I want to be part of my life. A few very close friends. There are some people I would love to see and catch up with but I don't think they are going either, although some of them are. And really - if I wanted to catch up with them I probably could.
I haven't gotten to go home very much in the past 5 years and the time I have gotten to be with my family has been limited...too limited. So if I'm going to drive the 7 1/2 hours home I'm going to spend that time with my family, it is precious to me. And I don't want to divide that time with anyone else.
Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of good memories with good friends, some of whom I would like to catch up with. But A LOT has happened in my life in the past 10 years. In many ways I am the same person I have always been, but in many other ways I am changed, as I am sure many others have. There are doctors, lawyers, mothers and fathers. There are world changers and there are those who are still waiting to make their mark. That's the part I would like to see, but the part I'm afraid I would see are the one's who haven't changed that much.
I really wish everyone the best, but this is one party I can't go to. Although I do hope that Mar fills me in. :)

New Mexico in May

We went home to New Mexico for Mother's Day (and my B-day). I would have blogged about it sooner but I'm a bum! :) It was wonderful - the weather was great and it wasn't windy!! We got to see my great grandmother. She's been so sick and we were really glad we were able to visit with her. Tony had a good time - it has been years since he had been back to NM. We didn't get to stay there very long. We got in after midnight on Friday night and had to leave Sunday morning. It sucked because I got sick on Sunday morning - I was probably just being a hypochondriac but I got bit by a spider and had a weird reaction. SERIOUSLY? Always something! It was really beautiful though and we had fun - I'll probably go back in July but Tony may not make it back until Christmas.

Visit with my parents

My folks came up last week - it was wonderful!!! They had been in Phoenix with Amy then drove up through Moab to come stay with us for a few days. We had a great time! Of course I tried to over compensate and drove us to a lake that turned out to be REALLY far away....super cold and windy - we were probably at 13,000 ft. I felt bad for that - all Tony and my dad wanted to do was fish but we spent way to long in the car. But the drive back was beautiful and we stopped and played in the South Platte for a while.
Here's a couple of pics:

I PASSED!!! WOO-HOO

I passed accounting.....I was SO worried that I wouldn't pass this class. And by pass I mean get at least an 84 - that is passing at DU. I did it! SO....VERY....RELIEVED........now for a glass of wine. My next classes start in 3 days. No light at the end of this tunnel.

Moab Fun

What an amazing weekend. Tony and I drove to Utah to meet up with our friends who drove up from Flagstaff. The weekend was great - so relaxing and it was soooo nice to see our friends!We haven't seen them in so long - since they came out to Maryland for Thanksgiving years ago.
The drive was only about 6 hours, maybe less. Not bad at all. It was a very beautiful drive and we got to see the western slope of the Rockies - which neither of us had seen before, so we enjoyed it. Moab of course was PACKED! I had been worried about this but we wanted to see Jenni and Rob and we've been wanting to go to Moab for a long time. Jenni and Rob had gotten there about 2 or 3 hours before we did and they hunted the entire time for a place to camp and no campsites were available. And no hotels. So when we got there at 10pm we decided to drive into the National Forest and just try to pop our tent somewhere, which is exactly what we did. We were so exhausted! I think it was about 11:30 by the time we got pulled over and set up. I was just giddy to be with them though! Some of my best memories are of camping with them. The next day we ended up going further into the forest and finding a better campsite next to a trail head. We hiked for a couple of hours Saturday and then did an even longer one on Sunday morning. We got some great photos. It was breathtaking. The cliffs were so steep and you could see forever. I can't wait to go back and explore more.

Rants...

You know what really irks me more than the anorexic girl next to me complaining about how fat her thighs are? It's when the kid on the other side bitches about missing one question on a test when he knows you aren't passing the class. Seriously? I sit next to really considerate people....obviously.

These things suck my time.....and I enjoy every minute of it

So I got the whole (all of 1) season of My So-Called Life on DVD. I know I completely bogart the blockbuster queue. I loved MSCL in HS. LOVED it. I felt for Angela's restlessness and not being sure where she belonged and her lust for Jordan....oh Jordan. It still makes me grin to see Jared Leto leaning against those lockers. I guess some crushes never go away. :) It is funny watching it all these years later. I still think her mom was anal and pushed her kids away. She meant well, she just stuck her nose in everyone's business. But now I see how difficult Angela was with her parents, and how all Rayanne needed was some guidance and discipline. I have one disk left before I'm done with the whole season...which leads me to ask - why was there only one season? This show as so great!
Watching it reminds me too of going to the movies to see Romeo and Juliet with Clare Danes. Man that movie was amazing! I still love it! The soundtrack, the clothes...everything about it.

I'm reading Candy Girl by Diablo Cody. I first heard about it on Fish's blog and it sounded good and gritty. And it is gritty. I'm over half way through. I really think she was just going for shock factor - I don't really know how honest it is. Or perhaps it's too honest? I knew going into it what it was going to be and it is definitely a page turner, but not one that I would give a high rating. I just can't imagine that someone would WANT to do this. HAVE to do this..ummm, I guess I can understand. The money that some of these ladies make is insane and they are right - they probably couldn't make that kind of money anywhere else. And Craig says that 99% of strippers are just paying their way through med school or law school, right? But I just think the book would have been great without the language. Or maybe I just can't put down my guard enough to enjoy it.

I'm a bum....maybe it's the weather

So weekend before last it snowed....and it snowed.....then I thought it was going to stop, but no...just more and more. I would say we got 15+ inches....and it was beautiful but seriously? I'm over winter. First of all we didn't even really have a winter because it was extremely warm and very little snow. So I shouldn't be moaning about the fact that it is still winteresk. But we keep getting teased with warm days. This morning I woke up to about 3 inches on the ground and it continued on until mid morning. Then I get off work and there isn't a trace of snow anywhere! This is the weirdest weather ever. We had planted our herbs this weekend. They were in boxes so I raced to bring them in this morning and I think they are going to make it. Our poor raspberry bush got all it's beautiful green limbs broken off but hopefully it will still produce!

I haven't been blogging...and I haven't been doing homework like I should. I just cringe! I'm getting burnt out and I'm not even 1/2 way through! I need 84 credits to get my degree and after this quarter I will have 22. No light at the end of the tunnel. I know I'm going to have to get my act back together, but it was beautiful to take the weekend off and just do what I wanted. Which included garden shopping, working out (oh my...working out...really over did it), watching My So Called Life on DVD (A-M-A-Z-I-N-G) which deserves a little blog all of it's own, and reading a really trashy novel by Diablo Cody about her being a stripper. I'm going to try and save those last two items for a post of their own.

I'll have to upload the pics later - for some reason they aren't loading.

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.
We woke up way too early this morning and went to the Sunrise service at Red Rocks. It was very beautiful and we were glad that we went!
Sorry I haven't posted in a while - I'm just going through a slump - All my good thoughts go into school work. I know...excuses excuses!

Weekend with the girls

My mom and aunt and grandma came up to visit me this past weekend and it was wonderful! They had to battle the blizzard on Thursday but they made it! I was mad the weather wasn't better, but at least we were together. It really makes living in Colorado even better to be reminded of how close I am to my family and to get to spend time together like this. We shopped ALOT and went out to eat and laughed and had fun. I really wish my sister could have been here too - that would have made it complete. Hopefully next time she will be with us too. I'll try to upload my pics later and post them.
Happy Monday!

Mr. Winter - are you done yet?

Woke up this morning to snow again. Don't get me wrong. I love snow and I love winter. But it is almost April and I am ready for spring. We had the most mild winter and now this? It was crazy on Thursday and now it's coming down again. I started to drive in when I called the snow line and found out we have a delay...the roads weren't that bad, maybe I just should have gone in anyways. Decisions Decisions! I guess I'll hold off for now.....
Hopefully this will be the last of our winter though. Mother nature keeps teasing us - 75 degree's weekend before last and freezing this past weekend. I'm pretty sure our trees that budded out are done....no telling if my tulips are going to make it (those the Kirby hasn't already devoured).
And now my feelings are hurt. I accidentally scared Kirby when I came back home this morning and now he is super scared of me! He won't even come to me.

I will be a Yogi....if I don't break my face first

I went to yoga again today. I even bought my own mat so that I don't have to lay down on the grody communal gym one. I do love yoga and I want to get really good at it. Let me rephrase that....I love the way people look when they do yoga and I desire to look like that. But it is so much harder than it looks. I thought I was going to eat it today.....mostly because of my sweaty palms! They just start sliding and I have to stop the pose. Then I look over in the mirror, thinking to myself, you are probably doing good....WRONG! I look like a pale, off balance chunk! My wobbling only adds to my belly bouncing and I kind of want to giggle, but I know that's inappropriate in the class. The harder I try the goofier I look. I am so ungraceful - which is one of the reasons I want this so badly! I know I can do this...I'm just worried about how long it's going to take. I'm inpatient. I mean - I've been walking for 27 years and I have not mastered it......what does that say?

Sad face.....

I had to take an assessment test before my accounting class starts next Tuesday. And I failed.....so of course, I feel like a failure. It was not at all what I thought it would be. What is wrong with me? I'm just in a sad mood, so I'm going to vent.
I got off work late....again. Completely overwhelmed.
I need new contacts ASAP!
The computer is bombing out...again.
The new TV we just got already bit the dust and some repair guy can't come out until next week.
I have to sit through an accounting class on Saturday in order to take the test...again...and I have to pass this time in order to take the class.
How can I have not passed a BASIC accounting exam? Seriously?? I know I haven't taken an accounting class since 2002 but still!!! That is only 7 years ago!!!! Urghh.

I'm just a sappy mess. I'm holding in my crying right now and my heart fills full of tears. I hate that! No, it's not because of my exam, although that did add to my stress. I saw an old friend's myspace (yes, I know, myspace...am I 13?) profile and it just brought up a lot of old memories. You know, the kind you suppress and only think about when you are ready to lay your head down and sob until your dehydrated. I haven't spoken to him in so many years....too many years. He and I share a past that is heartbreaking and beautiful. This was not a romantic relationship - it was just a friendship. I wonder if people forget that you love them if you let a relationship fall to the side? I think part of the reason we didn't keep in touch was because it was too painful to do so, at least that is my excuse. He is a reminder....and it's not like I need reminders of ANYTHING to do with my past. I am the master of carrying my past everywhere I go. And I have learned to live with all that has happened. I have learned how to deal with happiness and sorrow and to live a life effected by them, yet not affect me on a daily basis. I think that no matter how old you get or how long ago in the past something happened, the emotions can sneak up on you and make it feel like it happened recently. Pain dulls, but is that only because we learn to live with it? That must be it because it's not like you look back and say "it wasn't that bad or that good". It becomes a scar that we are used to seeing everyday. Then you run into someone that shares a similar scar, they may have it in a different place and theirs may be deeper, but it reopens your wound and reminds you that it will never truly go away.

If you have a baby, you won't be the baby!

That is one of my favorite lines from one of the funniest movies ever, Overboard.

I guess I just have babies on the mind. I've had "baby fever" before....but this time it's pretty bad. It could be that I have a birthday in a couple of months and I'm going to be 28. Man I used to think that was ancient! Or maybe it's because I feel like everyone I know is having a baby, or trying to have a baby, or expanding their family. Ok, that's an exaggeration....there are plenty of friends who aren't in family mode yet. But it just somehow feels right...like we should be trying for one.

Then my realistic side kicks in and says "of course you can't have a baby now!" I don't have time....wow- that sounds like a cop-out. Who does have the time? I know I can't do it while still in school, and I think that's why I want one, because I know that I really can't do it right now. You know, you always want what you can't have. But I go to school 2 nights a week. Ok, that's not bad. But on those days I try to leave for work 6ish (if I don't go to spinning at 5:30am) and don't get home until around 10:30 at night. So on those days I wouldn't see my baby and Tony would be a single parent. Who wants to sign up for that? Oh and the logistics...don't get me started.
If by chance I can accelerated the rate I am taking classes (currently I'm taking 2 classes per quarter) and possibly be done sooner, then maybe we can start trying next fall...if not, I won't be done with school until 2011.....and that seems like so far away.
On the flip side there is still so much we want to do before we are tied down. We would like to travel some more, save up some money....I could go on and on with excuses. I guess in the mean time I'll have to live vicariously through my friends with babies....Andi, Renata, Jen, Heather, Trysha.....

Amy

I was in a Ryan Adams mood tonight and was thinking about the first song I ever heard from him. It was probably around 2001/2002 ish. I was making a CD for my sister and trying to find all songs named Amy when this one came up. The video isn't very good, but the song is still good quality.

Italy...a year ago

A year ago this past week I was in Italy. I have the most wonderful memories and I think about them often. Sometimes I still can't believe that we went! It always seemed like such a far fetched dream. I can't wait to go on another vacation like that....somewhere new and exciting.
Besides getting to be with Tony and Robin and Jesse (number one memory) I really can't pin point what the best part was. I have many favorite memories. One of my favorites was when Tony and I went on this little side street in Assisi. The town seemed so sureal. Another wonderful memory was when Tony and I walked around Rome by ourselves trying to find a place to eat, then stopping by a cafe on our way back to the hotel. At one point we were semi lost but we just kept going in the direction we thought was right, and we ended up back in the neighborhood by the hotel. What an amazing time.


Throwing coin in Trevi Fountain in Rome


Side street in Assisi


Beside the Doge's palace.

Pics of the new bathroom

Here are the old pictures and the new pictures of our bathroom. I love it and I'm so proud of Tony!
Now he's on to redoing our mantel and the tile around the fireplace. It's always something!

Sorry it's taken me so long to post these!

Today we went snowboarding and I am so sore! I didn't do too well, but still better than I've ever done before. It was a lot of fun though, despite all the falling. I just hope I can get out of bed tomorrow. :)

More of Beautiful Colorado

As hard as it is to start over, as sad as we are for our friends and family, or when we've had a really bad week at work/school/life, we still have the mountains. We get to see them everyday and can be right up in them in less than an hour.
We went up last weekend to go snowshoeing, but there wasn't much snow, so we just went hiking. I am SO out of shape! But we had a great time, and the views were beautiful.

Digging to China

This is what I came home to on Friday.



I told Tony earlier this week that I didn't want to crate Kirby anymore because it makes me feel bad that he is in a crate for so long during the day. He's a good dog and usually doesn't get into anything while we are gone (when we leave him out, like on the weekends). Well, he proved us wrong! Sheets shredded, springs exposed. And that does suck, but I would have felt so much worse if he would have gotten choked on a spring, or gotten his head in there. It's just too dangerous, so back in the crate it is.
This was after one of the worse days at work I've had in a LONG time, but before I got one of the most unprofessional emails from one of my group members from school. Needless to say - Friday sucked.

Sex on Fire

So I'm probably the last person to hear this song, but it blew my mind. Once again Kings of Leon does it for me. This song is amazing!!! Tony said this reminds him more of their older stuff. What do you think?

Super Bowl's Past

When I was in high school we always had a super bowl party at our house. My mom and dad would graciously open up their home to a bunch of kids from our youth group. We'd buy pizza and coke and snacks and semi watch the game in between talking and playing. It is such a great memory to have and I'm so glad my parents were always ok with a bunch of dumb teenagers invading their house.

Another great memory is the super bowl where Janet Jackson exposed (ewwww) herself. Everyone was in the kitchen at Jen's and no one was sitting there with me to see it! Of course I was the only nerd watching Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake...but still! That was a great party - good friends, food and booze. It was one of many souree's over on Capri Rd. We found some random video tape the other day that we had taken over at a BBQ on Capri and it brought back such funny memories. If I could ever figure out how to load it onto the computer I could post some of it so that you could get a chuckle too.

Today we are having some friends over to watch the game and snack. Another year...more memories to be made.

Obadiah Parker

Wow! I just stumbled across this band by accident tonight and they are awesome! They are just now recording their first album and I can't wait to hear it!

New Favorite Drink - Pomegranate Champagne Punch

I got this recipe off of Bon Apetit and it's really delish! We had it on New Years and then again last weekend at our game night.

1/2 cup simple syrup (1/2 C Sugar, 1/2 C Water - boil to make syrup)
1 bottle champagne (I used spumante, but it called for Brut)
1 C. Rum
1 C. Pomegranate Juice
1 lemon thinly sliced
mint leaves

I varied the original recipe slightly, so the one above is not the exact one from Bon Apetit

Snowshoeing at Echo Lake

Last weekend Tony and I went to a snowshoeing Demo at Echo Lake. REI had a few different snowshoe makers there so we went up to try out the goods. It was so freakin' cold! And there were quite a few people there, so we had to wait in line about an hour to get a pair, but we still had a really great time. We have to start doing activities like this...it was one of the reasons we wanted to move to Colorado in the first place!

Bathroom Renovation

Seeing as I have a 3 day weekend, I told Tony I wanted to paint the guest bathroom, his response was to renovate the whole thing! It needed to be done anyways. The bathroom was carpeted (yuck!) and the vanity is just contractor grade, never been replaced. There wasn't anything wrong with it, we just wanted to update it (and definetly get rid of the carpet).
Tony never ceases to amaze me. The bathroom is really coming along, and he's doing it all himself. I have mostly just supervised today. And by supervised I mean that I have painted 3 different samples on the bathroom wall, did homework, and am now watching 7 Brides for 7 Brothers. :)
Here are the 3 samples I painted, although we have chosen to not go with any of them and instead go with Russian Blue. I'll put up pics once it's done!

The Biggest Crybaby

Yeah, that's the category I would definetly win since I'm sitting here bawling watching the Biggest Loser. Wow! I had no idea it was this emotional. I have never seen this show before. I just want it so bad for these people. I might just have to tune into this every week!
I really shouldn't be watching anything, as much homework as I need to get done....but I guess that's what commercials are for!

Welcome 2009

First of all I have to say congrats to our great friends Adam and Jen for the birth of their first son - Carter! I'm so excited for them and can't wait to see pics. Their 2009 is already off to an exciting start! That's the fifth baby year to date that friends have had....hmmm, much pressure?

2008 was a great year and one year ago at this time none of it was planned, just hoped for - We got to go to Italy with Robin and Jesse, we moved to Denver, bought a house, Tony got a job right away....things worked out really well for us. My folks came up on the 31st and helped us ring in the new year. We had so much fun! We ran around and got to eat at some new (to us) restaurants. We had such a nice time visiting. I'm hoping that Amy can come up sometime too (this time without having to work so much!)

Now I'm looking forward to 2009. Hopefully we will get settled into the house and our lives will seem less chaotic.
These are a few of my hopes for 2009 (and things I just want to get done)...not resolutions:
*To start cooking more, like I used to, experimenting and trying new things. I bought a new cook book the other day, so hopefully it will provide some inspiration.
*Get all the painting done in the house.
*Start going out again and finding fun new restaurants (I have to say this is one of things I miss the most (after our friends) about B-more. The food).
*Get at least most of the furniture picked out and bought so our guests don't have to stay on air mattresses or sit on the floor when there isn't enough room on the couch. (Sarah - this is where you come in!)
*Stay focused on school....(it's already starting - my first class starts tomorrow and I already have homework to do!)
*Get a better, more positive attitude towards work....and other things...but mostly just work. I have to remember that I can't be a reflection of those I work with, but have to be myself no matter the circumstance. I have to try not to get so down and depressed about mean people that suck. Wow - that already sounds more positive! Yikes! This is going to be hard....
*and of course the one thing everyone says they are going to do - start working out, again. I have a different motivation this year though...we want to start trying for a baby, and I really want to be at a good weight when that happens. If I could lose about 15 pounds, that would be ideal to me. That way it may not be as hard to lose the baby weight. I know I can do this. I'm good about excuses for exercises, but usually try to force myself to do something...but the eating part. Oh how I loathe diets!!! But I know that if I just cut out a few things I will be on the right track, like sodas and loading up my coffee with sugar. And candy during the day. And second helpings. But I am not, I tell you this now, going to cut back on the chips and salsa. Even if that meant never losing another pound, I won't let it go.


HAPPY NEW YEAR Friends! Many blessings to you for a wonderful 2009.