Tuesday, July 27, 2004

I've stayed away from a computer for the better part of the last few days - it felt great, very liberating, but also very strange, like when I skip yoga or going to the gym - I know I should do it, but I can talk myself out of it and try to forget that I was ever meant to do it. That's how it felt to not check email for a couple of days.

I was roaming around blogs and sites the other day, and somewhere (I wish I could remember, so I could link to them) I read a list of things that made that person cry & things that made them happy. I liked the idea, so here's my list:

Things that make me cry
  • anything patriotic, especially the national anthem
  • any injuries to the innocent (especially kids & animals)
  • cruelty in any form
  • most movies on Lifetime
  • onions

Things that make me happy
  • when Ruby wakes up, sees me, and starts to wiggle
  • the first long drink of water after a good yoga class
  • my garden when it's just waking up from winter and starting to bloom
  • getting snail mail from my friends
  • how the boy smells when he's sleeping
  • peanut butter & chocolate

Thursday, July 22, 2004

Yesterday was a completely useless day, so I met my friend Michele for drinks after work, had two margaritas, went home and was asleep within an hour.

Today should be a bit better. I'm supposed to go to the Subaru dealership and fill out a survey, and in exchange for being nice about them, they give me a free tank of gas or an oil change or something. However, what I really want is the owner's manual for my car, which was mysteriously absent when I bought the car. I think I'll give them the survey and let them fill it out, in exchange for my manual and a set of all-season floor mats.

Tuesday, July 20, 2004

There was no volunteer training last night, I got my weeks mixed up. Oh well. I headed home, and found the boy in the driveway with a box. It turns out that he found an injured bird at work that was about to be swallowed by a cat, so he put it in a box and brought it home. Many phone calls later, we found a wildlife rescue place near Lyons that would take him - and they'll take him back to where he was found when he's ready to be released, so he can hook up again with his bird homies.

I've started watching "Six Feet Under" and I really like it, but the episode last night was almost more than I could bear. As a friend put it, it's the vicimization of someone that's so hard to watch. I almost turned it off, but it's a good show, and I wanted to see the character make it out of things okay. It was a very disturbing episode.

Monday, July 19, 2004

meme thing
lifting what I read here

Last Cigarette: Two years ago, as of 8/13/04
Last Alcoholic Drink: Last night, red wine from a box (don't laugh!)
Last Car Ride: Morning commute today
Last Kiss: The boy, this am
Last Good Cry: Last weekend
Last Library Book: The Godfather (on tape)
Last book bought: Feng Shui Chic, from my local used bookstore
Last Book Read: Red Poppies
Last Movie Seen in Theatres: "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
Last Movie Rented: "Stuck on You"
Last Cuss Word Uttered: F*ck
Last Beverage Drank: Orange juice
Last Food Consumed: Beets
Last Crush: Can't remember
Last Phone Call: From company's legal department, but I'm not in trouble
Last TV Show Watched: "South Park"
Last Time Showered: This morning at 7am
Last Shoes Worn: Danskos, on my feet as we speak
Last CD Played: Spanish guitar music
Last Item Bought: Steaks for dinner last night
Last Download: "Fallin'" by Alicia Keys (yes, I paid for it)
Last Annoyance: IMs from my brown-nosing coworker
Last Disappointment: Yoga class on Sunday AM, no balance
Last Soda Drank: Yesterday
Last Thing Written: Blog entry this am
Last Key Used: Front door key at 7:15am, when I realized I forgot my purse
Last Words Spoken: "I don't know where he is"
Last Sleep: During general staff meeting this am
Last Ice Cream Eaten: Glacier Pralines & Cream, couple of weeks ago
Last Chair Sat In: Scary office chair I'm currently occupying
Last Webpage Visited: Zucchinis in Bikinis, where I lifted this
We went back to the Elks Lodge on Friday for swimming & bbq, but it was kind of gray and rainy, so we skipped out after Mare ate her bbq beef sandwich. We ended up staying in and watching "Stuck on You" - too funny.

Joni and I finally made it out to a movie again yesterday - we saw "Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban." I love those stories. Just seeing the movie yesterday made me want to pick up books 4 & 5 again. I'm trying to convince Mare to get started on them, but she's happily reading "Treasure Island" out loud to my mother right now.

I made a deal with myself that I would really make the effort to get some kind of exercise each day - even if it's just riding the stationary bike while I watch TV. I've started going back to my local yoga studio (which feels wonderful), and walking in the morning before work. I have so much more energy when I do that - it's like a kick-start to my day. Now if I can just find another pilates class that's in the evenings....

Friday, July 16, 2004

Poor Martha. While five months doesn't seem like a long sentence after this long, drawn out trial, I feel for her. When I think about what she's done (or at least, is accused of having done), I'm kind of left with "what's the big deal?" - I mean, I know she broke the law, but it just doesn't seem like it's worth all the fuss. At least she didn't do this with her own stock, cheat her investors while sitting at the top of her corporate food chain. If we use Martha and her five months as the yardstick for corporate honcho no-nos, then we shouldn't be seeing Ken Lay again until the next millenium.

Thursday, July 15, 2004

Mmmm, Mexican food for dinner last night. There are few things better than Mexican beer when it's 90 degrees outside and you're sweating even though you've been standing in the shade. The downside to my burrito & beer meal is that I felt compelled to get on the stationary bike the second I arrived home.

Tomorrow night will be swimming and BBQ at the Elks Lodge. It's such a cool, funky gathering - mostly just people from the neighborhood, lots of kids & older people. Last week we saw several people that we knew. It's like a little local secret, and one of the few outdoor pools around.

Hahahaha....Kung Fu Bunnies - via Daisy.

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

I'm going to the Farmer's Market tonight with my mom and Mare. It's every Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning, but I've never been on Wednesday before. We'll grab dinner down there, maybe tamales from one of the vendors. Usually I get herbs (last time I bought four tiny lavender plants), veggies, cheese, bread, and sometimes something special - like a bunch of dried sage that I keep around to burn in the house.

A friend at work bought some of the yellow bracelets to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation. They sell the bracelets for $1 each to raise funds for the foundation, and are have Lance's motto "Live Strong" stamped on them. I went to the site and ordered a package of 10 to give away.

My friend Laurel is running the Nike 26.2 in San Francisco in October, to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I recently learned that my goddaughter was diagnosed with leukemia, so I went to the site and made a donation in her name. As a bonus, Laurel will put Sadie's name on her shirt for the marathon.

Monday, July 12, 2004

I had a glorious four-day weekend. I took Thursday and Friday off work to be with Joey and Mare, and we relaxed and went to movies and shopped and had a great time. Joey went to camp on Saturday morning, he'll be away for almost 4 weeks. He seemed a little nervous about going away for so long, but he rallied nicely when the camp van met us and picked him up. Mare and I are going to take a picture of the dogs and send it to him as a postcard.

I have a meeting tonight with a volunteer rescue squad that I'm hoping to work with. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

Best editorial about "Fahrenheit 9/11" that I've read - from SF Gate.
The editorial pages in my local paper continue to be full of messages from both ends of the spectrum regarding "Fahrenheit 9/11" - there is one in today's paper from a friend and coworker, whose thoughtful points included asking everyone to ask themselves "what if?" - what if even a fraction of the truth is depicted in the movie? Wouldn't that alone be enough to outrage you?

Mare had a great time at the track this weekend, and came away with a new name - everyone was calling her "Mar" - she says she likes it, it's better than the people who get it wrong and call her Mary.

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

We got back late last night from a long two days in Iowa. We left on Sunday morning, arrived early evening at the track, stayed for a bbq and to watch the fireworks, then went back to the track in the morning. After a LONG day of riding, we hit the road about 6:30pm and headed back to CO. Of course, since we had to drive clear across Nebraska, nothing was going to be easy. We hit the weather at about 9:30pm - rain so fierce, and lightning so constant that I couldn't see anything. We pulled over to a little restaurant beside the highway to wait out the weather. Yuck! I haven't seen weather like that since hurricane season in Florida when I was a kid. We finally got back to Boulder about 2:30am - Mare was asleep in the car, I dragged her up and put her right to bed again. Meanwhile, I had to be back at work bright and early this morning.

My mother got a gig in LA this weekend, so she's leaving early Thursday morning, back on Saturday. I'll have the kids while she's away, and Joey is supposed to be leaving for camp on Saturday morning. However, Joey's been sick with what we now suspect is either strep or mono - either one presents a problem. I think if it's just strep, he'll still be able to go to camp, and just take his meds there. If it's mono, they might not let him come until he's better...we'll have to wait and see.

Saturday, July 03, 2004

It's a beautiful summer day here, the first weekend in recent memory without the looming threat of rain. I'm off to the Farmer's Market this morning, am wanting more rosemary and lavender to plant in pots in my backyard. I bought some lavender last fall and planted it in the ground at the front of the house, along the driveway, and it has sprouted and flowered like crazy. Beautiful!

Alex and I went out last night, down to the mall, hitting all of our favorite places. We ended up on the roof deck of the new Lazy Dog, formerly a sports bar in our neighborhood that was forced to move. Their new restaurant didn't seem all that interesting, but the roof is something else. Views of the Flatirons and all of Boulder, tons of tables and lots of servers. The food was delicious, but then again I have no perspective, as we had already had 4 or 5 pints by the time we arrived....

Thursday, July 01, 2004

I took the day off work yesterday, and went to see "Spiderman 2" with my mom and Joey and Mare. We all really liked the movie, and agreed that it was better than the original. We may even agree with Roger Ebert (who I tend to disagree with) that it is the best superhero movie since the original "Superman" in 1978. The only thing that distracted me from Tobey's big blue eyes was the obnoxious woman and her three obnoxious kids who wandered the theater and did everything from talking in their loudest voices (the 5 & 6 year olds) to babbling and shrieking (the two year old) during the ENTIRE film. This woman didn't make any effort to quiet them or remove the from the theater, just completely oblivious. Lady, if you can hear me - HIRE A DAMN SITTER. Honestly, don't they have special showings for mothers & infants/toddlers/outofcontrolkids? It cost me $20 bucks (between tix for me and one kid, plus popcorn & drink) to see the movie, and I get to listen to her kid scream? At what point do people stop having any consideration for anyone besides themselves? Besides, this really isn't a movie for little kids. It's dark and noisy and scary - isn't that why it's rated PG-13?