Just a quick update, for those of you following along at home:

We did buy a new house, and we're moving in on August 27. We decided to keep our house in Boulder, and we're in the process of trying to find tenants. The hunt for tenants is long and arduous, but we're hanging in there. We've had 6 families take a look, but nothing so far. I keep telling myself that it's because it's been available for so long, but it might be a tiny bit expensive. If we don't rent it by the end of this coming weekend, we're dropping the price.

I'm very excited about the new house. It's going to need a lot of work, most of which we'll do ourselves. We need to install a water softener for the well water, need to buy a new washer/dryer, and then once we're moved in we'll start a list of changes and try to prioritize them. Some are more urgent than others - there is a wall in the dining room that needs to get knocked down in order for us to fit our dining room table, so that will happen pretty quickly. There is only one bathroom, so putting a second one in will be a HUGE priority. There is some faux wood paneling that I'll be removing, which has to happen before we do new floors. There is yucky brown tile in the kitchen that needs to come down and be replaced, cabinets need to be cleaned up. I need your help here - the cabinets are okay, but BOR-RING. I'm tempted to sand them down a bit and then paint them white and put stainless steel hardware on them, which will then match the stainless steel appliances that we'll be putting in. Opinions?

Okay, here's the picture of THE HAIR. There is a lot of it. One thing that my family ain't short on, that's hair follicles. My hairstylist charges me extra for doing highlights (yet another reason to do it myself) because it takes her over an hour to put foils in.

This color is "Light Brown - Natural", which means that it's neither Warm nor Cool, so it's supposed to bring out your natural shades. It lightened my roots (and all the hair at the back of my head, near my nape, which never gets colored), so I think it's actually a bit lighter than my natural shade. Of course, I've been coloring my hair for so long that I have no idea what it would look like without color.

I'm going to live with this for a few weeks and see how I feel, and then I'll either continue to use this color or will go one shade darker. It's certainly much easier than having blond highlights (no rootage!).

I had to stop at the bank on the way to work this morning, and since it's directly next door to one of my favorite coffee shops, I made the rare stop for a nice schitzo skinny latte (that's half-caff, non-fat milk for you non-drinkers). I say "rare" because I hardly ever get coffee anymore - the stuff we get at work is pretty good, and at $3.60 a pop for my lattes, I figured I'm saving myself around $80 each month (have to keep reminding myself, saving is good, saving is good).

I always get treated well in my coffee shop, especially if one particular young woman is working. This girl and I go waaayyy back, to when she spilled a double-espresso INTO MY FAVORITE WALLET last year. Guess what? Credit cards stop working when soaked in espresso. Of course, she felt terrible and insisted on buying my coffee for months. Even now, she still jokes about it, makes sure the counter is clear of my wallet and purse before pouring. The coffee is no longer free, but it's still funny.

Alex and I spent about three hours last night watching back-to-back episodes of Dog Whisperer. I'd never seen the show before, in fact I think that we both thought it was about a pet psychic (don't ask....), but in fact it was really pretty good. Some of the episodes focused on dogs where we were both thinking either kick that dog or give it away, but I'll be the first person to admit that the love we have for Ruby could probably only be rivaled by a child, so I'm not gonna throw any stones at these people who put up with dogs that bark, dogs that bite, dogs that try to eat other dogs.

The Dog Whisperer (Caesar) is all about the "pack" mentality. He's the leader of the pack, and as soon as a dog that he is working with acknowledges that, he can start to work with the family on how to control the dog's behavior. One thing that really rang true with me was to watch how he required that the dog become submissive before he moved on to any work with them. He never calls the dog by name, it's more about body language and asserting himself as the leader. He has a sort of "dog camp" in Los Angeles that is home to around 40 dogs - some that he has rescued, some that he is working with, some that board while their people are away. All of those dogs, living in harmony. Have to say, I was pretty impressed. I think there is hope yet for my mom's crazy dog, Thor - my nephew is now responsible for him, and I told him to TiVo a few episodes of the show and watch them to get some ideas.

Moving day is about three weeks away, and I've only just begun to pack.

That thought fills me with terror, even though I'm an old veteran of house-moves. The house I'm about to inhabit will be my 21st address. I may even be forgetting one or two, but I know it's at least 21. I'm about to be 36 years old, so that seems like a lot of moving - but let me say that many of those moves took place before I was able to decide for myself. In the last 12 years, I've lived in 3 houses - 6 years in my condo in Santa Monica, a year-and-a-half in a house we rented when we first moved to Boulder, and now 4 years in our current home. That's not too bad.

One of the things that made me think of this is a news blurb I read or heard about recently about how many adults and families have no sense of community anymore, no "circle of friends" that they rely on for everything from babysitting to moral support. Among the factors they cited was that many adults move from place to place so much, far more than was common for our parents. Many people don't have jobs that are long-term, due to layoffs and competitive employers, etc.

In my adult life, I've always tried to create that circle for myself. I relish my home and my friends and the time I'm able to spend with them. Even when I've landed in a new city, one of my priorities is to find a place (okay, usually it's a bar) where I feel comfortable, and then to go there and seek out the faces that start to look familiar. Over time, I've built wonderful friendships with an incredibly eclectic group of men and women. I'm so grateful for them.

Well, I did it. I bought a kit of at-home hair color and used it. I was terrified.

Since we're buying another house, and I have this wacky goal of being out of debt sometime in the next 50 years, I've had to seriously cut back on certain types of expenses. The first to go was the personal trainer (an admitted luxury), followed quickly by my regular visits to the hair salon. My hair grows incredibly fast, and I've worn blond highlights for most of my adult life, so I usually have to go have them done every 8 weeks - even at eight weeks I have at least an inch and a half of rootage.

My goal going forward it about simplicity, about not needing so much STUFF. Along with sorting through my possessions with a wicked hand and creating two pickups full of stuff to sell at a garage sale next week, I'm also trying to make my day-to-day life a little less complicated. This led me to a frightening conclusion - my natural hair color *gasp*. Only problem is, I'm not exactly sure what my natural color is. Okay, I can look at the hair near the back of my head/neck for guidance, but it's pretty damn dark. I can look to my brows, but they're pretty dark, too. I'm not sure that I'm actually that dark-haired, although my father was. To make the transition a little less traumatic, I went with a light brown shade from L'Oréal Féria. It is a little too light of a brown for me, but it's a good interim color, and in a couple of weeks, I'll go a shade darker and see how that goes. The Feria stuff isn't permanent, it's meant to last a month or so. It's very gentle, but I confess there were some fumes last night that made me wonder if my husband put something in my water.

Anyway, I'm not posting photos yet. Maybe after the next color adjustment. Don't you just love progress posts?

A meme from Beth:


Five items in my freezer

1. vodka


2. peaches


3. Boca lasagna


4. beer glasses


5. wedding cake

Five items in my closet

1. many, many pairs of shoes


2. many, many purses


3. hockey stick


4. rifle, shotgun and handgun


5. extra toilet paper

Five items in my car

1. parka


2. 15 dog leashes


3. extra socks


4. flares


5. first aid kit

Five items in my purse

1. 11 tubes of lip gloss


2. sunscreen (spf 45)


3. Evian atomiser


4. handkerchief with my initial embroidered on the corner


5. check for $581.25 (woo hoo, gotta go deposit that!)

I wish I were better about making time to post. Every day it seems like there is an interesting or funny little story that would be perfect to share, but by the time I get around to actually doing a post, I've forgotten all of the little gems of my day.

One thing I can share with you is how much I'm enjoying Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. I never had the opportunity to read much Hemingway (outside of school), and this book is like a little gift that waits for me each night when I go to bed. I especially love how he describes needing to read other writers at the end of his work day, to preserve that part of his writing that still lives in his mind, by escaping into someone else's story.

For most of my life, since I learned to read, I've read every night before bed. Even when I'm traveling, or I stay out too late, I still pick up a book before going to sleep. I keep stacks of books on the floor next to my bed, because I never know what I'll be in the mood for from one night to the next. Sometimes I stick to one book until I finish it, but other times I know that what I need is something else, and I pluck a different one from the pile. I'm also one of those people who rereads books over and over again, because I'm able to disappear into the ones I love, and it's like reading them for the first time again.

Dr. Choppers passed on the house. *sigh* Oh well. I'm not going to kid you - the idea of a nice, responsible dentist and his kids as tenants was pretty much a dream come true for us, but what can you do? So the ad is running again, and I might actually have to plunk down some serious cash and run an ad in the local paper. Yes, I said "serious cash" - to run the very brief ad, text only, on a single weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) is $800. I kid you not.

Come to think of it, I know someone (in the friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend fashion) who works at the paper. I'm going to call and work on that. Really, it's not as if they have people getting left out of the local classifieds for lack of space, so how hard can it be to do me a little favor?

Dr. Choppers (I mean the dentist - ha ha, where is that reference from?) has been offered the house to rent. I should hear tonight or first thing tomorrow whether or not he'll take it. Hold good thoughts for my house to rent.

It's a relief to be back at work, mostly for the opportunity to spend the day indoors with A/C. We had some major computer issues this morning, so I haven't been as productive as I would have liked, but it beats being out in the heat. I'm even skipping going out to lunch (oh, the horror!) because I don't want to be outside. I know, I'm being lame, but I can't help it - I'm so sensitive to heat! Give me winter any day over being hot. I suppose it's a good thing that our new house is way up in the mountains, it's at least a good 15° cooler up there at any given time.

Since I've talked several times about how hot it is, I'm guessing that you figured out that we don't have air conditioning. There are really only a handful of days each year when this is a true problem, but unfortunately those days seem to all be right about now.

We went to a movie last night in the hopes of cooling off a bit, so I got to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest". I'm not going to do a movie review here, except to say that I wouldn't spend any money to see it again. It's not that it wasn't entertaining, it's just a kind of bored, been there, done that kind of movie. Anyway, the point wasn't to see THAT movie, it was to be inside someplace with A/C for a while, so I guess at least the money wasn't wasted.

Today, I took my niece and spent the entire day at a shopping mall. No kidding. We strolled through most of the stores, had a long lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, bought a few little goodies, had our makeup done at Nordstrom, etc. We managed to kill 6 hours - but hey, that 6 WHOLE HOURS THAT I WASN'T SWEATING AND MISERABLE.

It's been a busy freaking day, and also the hottest in years. Really. Record-breaking heat.

We had three potential renters come over this morning, starting at 9:30am. Two were referrals from friends, and the third answered our ad on Craig's List. All three seemed to like it, all three took applications. Unfortunately, I was interrupted with the last person (let's call him "the dentist"), because Alex called to tell me that he was stuck by the side of the freeway in Denver, wearing a wool suit.

Yeah, that one begs for an explanation. This morning was the funeral for our friend Gene, who died last week. Gene and Alex used to race together, they were incredibly well-matched in terms of their abilities. Gene was a sweet kid, and Alex was like a big brother to him. Since we had already lined up several prospective tenants, and since it's so unbelievably important that we get the house rented, I stayed behind to do the showings and Alex went to the funeral. Being the nice, well-mannered, cultured boy that he is, he went in his only black suit, a lightweight Italian wool. He looked lovely, and I was so proud of him for being so respectful toward our friend's family by looking appropriate when he went to grieve with them (unlike some of his fellow racers who thought it was somehow completely appropriate to go to a graveside ceremony in A T-SHIRT AND SHORTS. Are you fucking kidding me?).

So, he's headed home from the funeral, on the freeway back from Denver, and the truck dies. Just completely stops. It'll turn over, but won't catch. He's stuck on the side of the freeway, in 104° weather, with no power in the truck (and so no A/C), and I'm about 40 minutes away and occupied with trying to rent out our house.

Anyhow, long story short, the truck made it home, then died again on the way to the dealership, got towed, and now appears to need a new power train control module (oooh, scary). Alex says the whole thing with the truck is just our friend Gene, messing with him one last time.

So....hot....can't....move.

It's not a good day. A friend died today. He was injured almost two weeks ago, and died this morning. His organs are being donated as we speak.

I didn't know him well, but well enough to miss him. His death is hitting me really hard, and one reason is that his accident occured while he was riding his motorcycle at a track day - something that my husband does on a regular basis. I'm long past the point of feeling sick every time he gets on the bike, but I have to confess that after this, I don't know how I'll feel.

Big news. We've decided to buy a second house. We're land barons now (haha). The picture above is the view from the end of the driveway, out toward Gross Reservoir. It was such a good deal, a nice piece of land, a nice little 2,000 square foot house, 30 minutes into the mountains above Boulder. More info later.

You know the guy in your office that talks too much? The one who can't resist butting in on any conversation within earshot? The one who sees you standing in the doorway of the manager's office chatting, and strolls over so he won't be left out? Yeah, that one. I have one of those, too. We couldn't decide what to call that condition, until Wikipedia helped me out (actually, Wikipedia pointed me to Wiktionary).

Gobshite. Heh. Perfect.

One of my favorite things about my job is the people. We're a small group of about 8 (there are 18 in our office, but many are on the road a lot or work from home, so the core group is about 8), and we have lunch together nearly every day, do happy hour, that sort of thing. Now we're adding movies to the list of things to do when we're not hard at work.

Boulder Outdoor Cinema is a cool way to see movies in the summer. The films are projected up onto the back of a building on the quiet side of downtown, in front of a big empty parking lot. The movies start at about 9pm, and from 7pm on, people start to slowly arrive and stake out their spots - dragging lawn chairs, bean bags, coolers and picnic baskets. You can bring whatever food/drink you like, or they have some to purchase.

This Friday we're going over to see "Office Space". I can't think of a better movie to watch with this group of friends. One of them promised to bring a pitcher of margaritas (made with some excellent tequila that another coworker just brought back from Mexico), and I'm going to take some bbq chicken and deviled eggs. Should be a good time.

Back from a race weekend in Iowa. It's WAY too hot to be going to a place like Iowa right now - of the four days I was there, I think the lowest daytime temperature was around 90 degrees. Ugh. I'm not one of those people who handles hot weather well. I'd rather be surrounded by snow 10 months out of the year than go through 3-4 really hot months of summer.

Boulder is hot, damn hot, in the summer. There have been summers since I have lived here that have been almost unbearable for me. In fact, in 2001 I fled Boulder and returned to Santa Monica, in part because I was so hot all the fracking time. I get cranky, have headaches, my joints swell - it's awful!

This summer got hot pretty early, but it's cooling off a bit now. We had a fierce thunderstorm last night, just dumped rain down on us. My house backs up to open space, and there is a creek just beyond our property line. Flash floods are not uncommon when it rains like that - it's one reason that flood insurance is required where we live. In the four years we've been in our house, we haven't had any flooding yet, but we are on the "100 Year Flood Plain" - let's just hope the 1-in-100 doesn't happen while we live there.

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Kellllllllyyyyyyyyy.....Happy Birthday to you.

My little sis turned 34 today. A few highlights from June 26 gone by:

In 1870, the first section of the boardwalk at Atlantic City, N.J., was opened to the public.

In 1917, the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force arrived in France during World War I.

In 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco.

In 1959, President Eisenhower joined Britain's
Queen Elizabeth II in ceremonies officially opening the St. Lawrence Seaway.

In 1968, Chief U.S. Justice Earl Warren announced his intention to resign.

In 1977, 42 people were killed when a fire sent toxic smoke pouring through the Maury County Jail in Columbia, Tenn.

In 2003, Strom Thurmond, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, died in Edgefield, S.C., at age 100.


Today's Birthdays: Actress Eleanor Parker is 84. Jazz musician-film composer Dave Grusin is 72. Actor Josef Sommer is 72. Singer Billy Davis Jr. (The Fifth Dimension) is 66. Rock singer Georgie Fame is 63. Actor Clive Francis is 60. Actor Robert Davi is 52. Singer-musician Mick Jones is 51. Actor Gedde Watanabe is 51. Rock singer Chris Isaak is 50. Rock singer Patty Smyth is 49. Singer Terri Nunn (Berlin) is 45. Rock singer Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays) is 43. Rock musician Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) is 37. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson is 36. Actor Sean Hayes is 36. Actor Matt Letscher is 36. Actor Chris O'Donnell is 36. Friend, daughter, sister and mom Kelly Bennett is 34. Actress Rebecca Budig is 33. Country singer Gretchen Wilson is 32. Actor-musician Jason Schwartzman is 26. Actress Kaitlin Cullum is 20.


Chris Isaak is 50???

Pedicure!

Aren't feet weird looking? Maybe it's just mine. I know I have one really odd toe (fourth toe on my right foot), which kind of curls under the others. Also, my feet grew so that my toes formed a point - you should see when I point my toes, they actually form a very shart point. I also think the longer second toe is freaky. I've heard all sorts of theories over the years about how that means something, but to me it just means my feet aren't as pretty as some others. I take comfort in the fact that I don't know anyone who has what I would call "pretty feet". I supposed it could be worse - my husband is dark-haired, and he said the (very sparse) hair on his feet makes him look like a hobbit. Heh. Hobbit feet.

I bought a new camera last week. It was equal parts a present to myself for my recent promotion (yay!), and a practical purchase in the sense that we're going to spend about 3 weeks in Europe this fall, and I'm trying to go with one small carry-on suitcase (yeah, we'll see how that goes). On the one hand was my beloved D70, which is a) heavy, b) bulky & hard to pack, and c) very, very expensive. On the other hand was the very reasonably priced Canon PowerShot SD600, which fits in the palm of my hand, and is far more easily replaced (price-wise) if I lose it or break it.

Anyhow, I was messing around with the new toy in the office last week, and snapped the photo above - the very first photo taken! The view is from my cubicle out onto Pearl Street in Boulder.

More to come....

Internet problems in the office yesterday afternoon (damn you, C0mc@st) prompted a group of us to go off, laptops in hand, in search of free wireless Internet. In a town like Boulder, you don't have to go far. In fact, two doors down is the lovely Allison coffee house, which I've written about in previous posts. However, Allison does not have air conditioning, and since it was around 90°, my compadres and I kept walking. Then, in flash of genius, I remembered that Conor O'Neill's has free wireless, and air conditioning, and both Stella Artois and Harp on tap. I'll give you two guesses as to where we spent our afternoon. We were not necessarily productive, but we had a good time.

Jodi had a conflict come up for Tuesday this week, so we met this morning instead. I was able to drag my ass out of bed early enough to do about 15 minutes of fast walking on an incline before she got there (so much for my cardio). Once she arrived, we did this:

• Push ups - 3 sets of 12


• Hip adductors - 70 lbs. - 3 sets of 12


• Hip abductors - 90 lbs. - 3 sets of 12


• Standing leg extensions - 3 sets of 12 / each leg


• Seated wide grip pull downs - 35 lbs. - 3 sets of 12

I feel pretty good today. The leg extensions that we did today were easier than the ones last week (for me at least). I stand on one leg and lean forward to hold onto a bar, then draw my other knee to my chest, and then extend it out straight behind me, pivoting the hip joint of my standing leg. Since I used to do both ballet and gymnastics, this particular strech isn't difficult for me, but doing a lot of reps is certainly a good little burn.

Jodi also gave me some diet advice last week, and so starting today, I'm on the bandwagon of 5-6 small meals, about every 3 hours. This is hard for me, because I'm often not hungry, and I tend to lose track of time while I'm sitting at my desk. But I'm going to try. Just so that you'll all pity me, here's today's menu:

6:30am
banana
protein bar

9:30am
2 hard-boiled eggs, whites only
5 whole wheat crackers
handful of green grapes

12:30pm
grilled chicken
small salad

3:30pm
1 c. of oatmeal
1/2 small red bell pepper
string cheese

5:30pm
small apple
2 small slices tri-tip steak
green beans
dinner salad

Seems like a lot of food. We'll see how I do.

I was thinking that the best way to let you know that I'm keeping my commitment over at Neil's to "move my ass" is to post about my visits to the gym. Let me know if this gets boring.

I meet my trainer, Jodi, on Tuesdays and Thursdays before work. We do a half hour each time we meet, focusing on weights and core work. Squats and crunches exist in every workout. I usually try to get there a half hour or so before I'm to meet Jodi, and I get on the treadmill for a brisk walk / slow jog. I usually select one of the preset programs on the treadmill - "calorie burn" is my favorite, it speeds up and slows down and increases and decreases the incline. I always feel good after I get off the treadmill, and I feel nice and warm by the time I start with weights. We don't do any heavy weights, just lots of repetitions (usually 3 sets of either 12 or 15). I have very long limbs, so building the long muscles works well for me. I played a lot of sports as a child/teen (gymnastics, swimming, volleyball, softball, track), so I have a tendency to build certain muscles (thighs, back, shoulders) faster than others. I'm trying to be careful about building any big muscles - I don't want the thighs of my jeans to be tight!

Yesterday's workout was as follows:

• Bicep curls, seated on fit ball for core stabilization - 15lbs in each hand - 3 sets of 12


• Squats, each followed by a lateral shoulder raise (10lbs each hand) - 3 sets of 12


• Crunches with one knee drawn to chest - 3 sets of 12 for each leg


• Tricep extensions - 3 sets of 12 at 25lbs

The last exercise we did was kind of strange (well, it was new to me), and it's the one I'm really feeling now. I stood with my feet firmly planted, about 4 inches apart, then raised one leg and stood with that knee bent. I then extended that leg out straight, and returned it to the bent knee position, remaining balanced on one leg. I repeated this 12 times, then switched legs. Did both legs 3 times. By the end of the third, I could barely extend my leg, felt like it was lifting a bag of cement every time I kicked out my ankle - and of course it has to be done slowly and smoothly!

Anyway, that was Thursday. I'll be back at the gym Saturday morning, on my own this time - can't afford Jodi more than twice a week!

Good news this morning! My mobile rang about 7am with the news that my friend Kim had her baby. Lily R. was born late last night, weighing a healthy 7lbs. 4 oz. Kim is such a trooper, she said the delivery was surprisingly easy (although clearly not as easy as my friend Joni, who described the delivery of her twin boys as "they shot out like they were on a water slide"), and she and the baby will be going home tomorrow. My best wishes go out to the new mama, and Papa Dean.

P.S. I'll bet you thought I was kidding when I posted recently about all the babies, huh? It just keeps coming - found out the other day that our friends R & D are expecting their second baby this fall. I swear, there's something in the water here.

I was a couple of hours late to work today, because this morning at 9am was the opening of the Title Nine warehouse sale. At least, I thought it was a warehouse sale. They sent me a flyer about a sale, but I lost the stupid flyer. Then last night, I went to Bonfils for my regular blood donation, and there was a sign about the sale posted in the empty storefront next door. I figured, what the hell, I like Title Nine but won't usually spend the ungodly amount of money that they want for most of their merchandise, so a warehouse sale works for me. Turns out, it wasn't really a warehouse sale, except in the sense that every woman in Boulder between the ages of 18 and 70 was there. Some even brought their husbands (I think so that the hubby could be used as a barricade when digging through a particularly deep bin of sports bras). I had to park in a WHOLE SEPARATE STRIP MALL LOT!! Come on, this isn't Boston or LA - we NEVER have trouble parking, especially at a strip mall that until today boasted of a Blockbuster, a Glacier ice cream store, and the Outback Saloon.

So the part about how it wasn't really a warehouse sale is in reference to the fact that this shit was still REALLY expensive. Elbow your way in, push against the human tide to get close enough to a table to grab an item that MIGHT fit, wait in the cashier line that wrapped twice around the lenghth of the store, only to still pay $29 for a t-shirt? $19 for a sports bra? I get that it's less than in the store, but it's hardly a bargain price. Hell, I can do better than that on Sierra Trading Post or Campmor, and can even find some of the same brands. Plus, no one steps on my toes or snatches a sweatshirt out of my hands when I shop online.

About three weeks ago, I made a commitment over at Citizen of the Month to exercise at least 3 times per week, or else publicly humiliate myself on my blog. Ha! No public flogging here! That's right, I am on track with my thrice-weekly visits to the gym. I've even reached the point where I sort of look forward to it. With the help of my trainer, Jodi, I'm getting toned, little by little. She and I meet two mornings a week, and then I make it at least one more time each week on my own. Here's what we did this morning:

• Tricep extensions


• Chest presses


• Hip adductors


• Hip abductors


• Crunches on a fit ball, pushing medicine ball skyward at the top of each crunch

Unfortunately, I was running late this morning and didn't get any time on the treadmill, which is how I usually warm up. Maybe tomorrow....

On my iPod for the gym:

Gorillaz
Earth, Wind & Fire
Crystal Method
Pussycat Dolls
Fat Boy Slim
Kanye West
Nirvana

I know. Weird.

I got back into town last night from a long weekend in Durango. A friend of mine participated in the Adventure Xstream race, and I was part of the support crew ("crewing" became a favored term over the weekend, and was usually invoked to describe what we were doing when we were sprawled on the couch or floor in the condo, drinking wine and eating cheese). I love Durango, it's a very scenic town, with very mild temperatures this time of year - mid to high 70s during the day, low 50s at night - as opposed to Boulder and the mid-90s temperatures that I have to look forward to all this week.

Our condo was on the mountain at the Purgatory ski resort, about 25 miles outside town. The view from the couch was straight out across the valley, to the Needles peaks opposite the resort. I would show you photos, but my trusty D70 has taken to turning itself on while in my bag and thereby draining its battery - so no pictures until I hear back from the rest of the team (the picture above is from Google Images).

P.S. In my defense, I tried to post last week, really I did. Fracking Blogger was down. I'm surprised I could even view my blog, 'cause I sure couldn't post to it.

I set up my site for RSS feeds, via FeedBurner (see the clever little icon on the lower right) - feel free to sign up. Go easy on me, I'm feeling very technically challenged by all of this and am resisting the urge to whimper. Clearly, I do not spend enough time online and perusing blogs. I may have to change that....

This one is from a hike I did last year with the kids in Rocky Mountain National Park.

I'm getting settled in nicely to the new office and the new job. A little about each:

The new office is gorgeous - 2nd (top) floor of a building in downtown Boulder, right on the corner in a busy pedestrian area near the Pearl Street Mall. There's a restaurant downstairs, so every day at about 4pm we start to hear music and people laughing and talking. It's energetic and alive in this part of town, and one whole wall of our office is windows that look out at the mountains. I can see Mount Sanitas as I sit here, reflected in my monitor screen.

I wasn't kidding about the air conditioning. It's 75° outside, and probably 65° in here. I sit at my desk wearing a fleece.

As for the new work, it's been kind of overwhelming, but exciting at the same time. It's far more technical than anything I've ever done (for work, anyway) before. I'm writing code that creates little snippets of video streams that we use to test digital video products. The creation of these streams is very detailed and involved, and there's a lot for me to learn - but I'm so thrilled that I'm being given the opportunity to do it, after years of being stepped on and held back. I'm starting to find my footing with this work, but there is tons of help available to me. I think the plan is that I do this for a month, and if looks as if I can cut the mustard, then I get to make the change permanent and make more money (huzzah!).

About the only downside to this change at work (and I don't see it as a problem at all) is that I am spending lots more time at work than I used to - around 50 hours a week. I don't mind it at all, but it will start to cut into my ability to do other things, at least for a few months until I'm really rolling with this stuff. But the potential for me to a) work my way out of debt and b) be fabulously successful in my chosen work is well worth it.

WORKING HARD STOP. OFFICE MOVE LONG AND ARDUOUS STOP. SICK FROM UBER-AIRCONDITIONER IN NEW OFFICE STOP. MORE LATER STOP.

More for the office photo stuff....this one taken in Chicago, the day before Alex and I got engaged.

I could HARDLY participate in a photo contest without submitting at least one photo of Ruby....did I mention that it's a magic red ball?

We had a lovely Mother's Day - my mom, Joey, Mare and I went to see Poseidon in the afternoon, and then headed toward downtown Boulder for dinner. The initial plan was a Cajun restaurant called Red Fish, but once we were seated, the smell of fish was so overwhelming that I was starting to feel sick. Luckily, no one was dying to eat there, so we left and went instead to The Med, one of my all-time favorites in Boulder. We dined on grilled garlic shrimp, calamari, three different kinds of hummus, some falafel, and prosciutto-wrapped melon with balsamic vinegar. Mmmmmmm. I also had a glass of a really nice pinot noir, called Hahn. I've never tried that particular wine before, and I'm not usually all that fond of pinot noir, but this was quite nice - I think I'll try to pick up some tonight and have it for home.

Today is actually a big day for me at work - I sort of got a promotion (that means that for a month, I do a bigger, harder job - if it goes well, I probably get to continue to do it permanently and make more money), so I've been assigned a mentor at work and will spend pretty much all of my time with him, trying to quickly get up to speed. I'm slightly intimidated, but the person that will be mentoring me is someone that I'm already close to, so I know that we'll be able to work well together.

One last thing for you to chew on - I might have some news soon, rather big news (no, not the kind that comes nine months from now). Stay tuned.

Taken last fall, from my mother's driveway....

There is a photo contest at work, where the winning pictures are blown-up and framed to hang on the walls of the office. After a few months or so, you get to take your picture home. Over the next few days, I'll post photos that I'm submitting for consideration (be nice!).

My beloved Avs are headed to the conference semifinals in the next couple of weeks. The outcome of the Calgary/Ducks game today will determine who we face - according to NHL.com, "If Calgary wins Wednesday, the third-seeded Flames will host No. 8 seed Edmonton in the conference semifinals. An Anaheim win would eliminate the last of the top four seeds in the West playoffs, and set up a matchup between the Ducks and the seventh-seeded Colorado Avalanche."

Personally, I don't care who we play - I have tickets, and I'll be there - on my feet, screaming my head off. Sports have always been part of my life, both as a player and a spectator. I can remember watching football with my grandparents and my uncles when I was just a small child, and my mother & sister know more about college football than some coaches I know. I still love it to this day - my sister and I know each other well enough to know that in the fall and winter, you don't call early on Sundays (in case we're sleeping off Saturday), but you don't call late morning/early afternoon either, since we'll be watching football.

This is the first season that I've had season tickets for the Avalanche, and I'll definitely re-up for next year. Actually, it's a pretty sweet deal: my friend Tara and her husband have 2 sets of tickets side-by-side, so four seats total. They keep two for themselves, and then they sell the other two to three separate couples - so I get two tickets to a third of all the home games. I know that sounds confusing, but it works really well for me. I get to attend about 11 games, so it doesn't feel like I'm going ALL THE TIME, and I take different people every time. Alex has been to a few, my friend Tam, my friend Kat, and Joey and Mare have been to a couple of games each.

Hold good thoughts for my boys - Sakic, Tanguay, Hinote, Hejduk, Laperrier, Brisebois, Liles, Theodore, and my most favorite, Big Rob Blake. GO AVS!!!!!!!!!

This one is for my darling Vic....

I was reminded this week that this blog is how a lot of my oldest and dearest friends keep track of me. A lot of times, I think about posting and am turning over my days in my head, and while there are stories there that touch and amuse me, I usually think other people would be bored by them. What I keep forgetting is that I started this blog for me, as a way to get stuff out of my head, and the happy by-product was that my friends and family could follow my days. So, I sit here this morning with a renewed commitment to my blog and regular posts.

Almost every morning, I stop at Allison for my morning coffee. It's right across the street from where I park, a really charming little storefront coffee house. It has a garage door on the front wall that rolls up when the weather is nice, making the whole place seem very open. There are small tables and chairs, armchairs and couches, and the obligatory wireless internet that it seems no coffee house can do without. They also have great coffee. Not just good coffee, great coffee. The staff is laid-back and unhurried, so you might wait a few minutes longer than if you ran up to St@rbuck$, but my lattes are so smooth and frothy, it's well worth my wait.

Now on to my gripe. I have only one, really (other than the one about how one of the staff misled me when he said they do all their own baking, and then I was there when the baker was delivering bread, cinnamon rolls and cookies, and the guy confessed that they only bake everything ELSE). It's that a lot of the regulars don't bathe. I don't mean like funky hippy B.O., I mean nasty, never-seen-a-bar-of-soap-before-much-less-touched-one stink. Sometimes they look to be homeless (look, I used to work with the homeless here, I've got no beef, but most of them aren't up and hitting Allison at 7am, nor would they spare the cash for a frou-frou latte), but more often they are just dirty - good shoes, no holes in the pants, but FILTHY. What the fuck is up with that? You're such a connoisseur of coffee that you'll go off the beaten track of the mall to get to Allison (and the coffee isn't any cheaper than the other place), but you won't take a damn shower? Or wash your hands? I swear, the guy behind me in line today not only had a smell so bad it was almost visible in the air, but his hands were dark with dirt and grime. C'mon - you eat with those hands?

Some say this is part of the local color of living in a place like Boulder. Maybe they're right. Lord knows I wouldn't have had much else to write about so far this morning....

Almost forgot - that post from last week, about spring? Remember the pink tree (scroll down....) - here it is this morning:

Ruby loves the snow.

Who knew that winter extended into the third week of April?

Okay, all I have to say is....eww.

The Web is buzzing with the shocking “news” that Tom Cruise plans to eat the placenta after his girlfriend Katie Holmes gives birth.

**BABY WATCH**

Moms and babies are doing great - Gavin and his mom have to stay in the hospital until probably Monday, as he was delivered via Caesarean. Rachel and her mama just got home a few minutes ago. They live next door, so I saw them pull in as I sat at my computer. Both sets of Rachel's grandparents are here, and one grandpa had a video camera ready to record her homecoming. It was sweet and charming to see, but made me not a little bit sad - should Alex and I ever have kids, it won't be quite like that - my dad is gone, my mom already has 2 grandkids, and Alex's parents have enjoyed watching 5 grandchildren arrive so far. Still, it's nice to hear all the excitement from next door - the only thing missing is the banner strung across the garage door that announces "IT'S A GIRL!".

I now have one remaining girlfriend who is pregnant - her daughter is due in June. This has been a busy year for pregnant friends - at one point it seemed like I was going to a baby shower every week! I've decided that it's just a factor of my age - I'm 35, and most of my friends are within a few years of that age, so it's natural that they're either starting families, or having their last kids. Plus, this is Boulder - home to more sets of multiple births (twins, triplets, etc.) than any other place I've ever lived, and a lot of those babies are coming to families who've waited a while to have them (read: moms are older!). They tell me that the likelihood of a multiple birth goes up dramatically as you approach 40, which frankly fills me with terror. It's probably one of the few reasons I still hesitate to consider getting pregnant - oh, I know, everyone says you figure it out and make it work, but I'm telling you, a single child would be lucky to survive in my house, forget more than one.

Spring has sprung in Boulder. The white tree is in my front yard, the pink one is in the side yard. It's 75 degrees out already today. I just hope that if we do have a spring storm, my flowers will survive the snow. This happens every year, so they should be used to it by now.

**BABY WATCH**

Two of my closest girlfriends are pregnant, and both are delivering today! They're even at the same hospital. They're making it very easy for me to visit and bestow tons of auntie gifts on the little people. One knew she was having a girl, but my other friend was holding out to learn the sex at birth. I'm still waiting for calls from both of them with the announcement, names, sex, etc. This is very exciting!

I have lately been inspired by Ali and her success at losing the little extra weight that just seems to mysteriously appear. I'm not sure at what point I began to slowly creep up, but for someone who used to be quite thin, I am decidedly Rubenesque lately. Not into plus sizes or anything, but heavier than I like to be. Of course that extra weight had to go directly to my boobs and my hips - while the guys out there may not see the problem with that, I would like to get back to being comfortable in a tank top, rather than look like I'm imitating Jayne Mansfield or something.

I joined a new gym in Boulder, it's 24 hrs. and for women only. It's small and doesn't offer classes, but they have plenty of equipment, it's close to home, and I can work with a trainer. My trainer is called Jodi, and I meet with her every Wednesday morning. I'm obviously not as committed as some - Jodi told me about another client that she meets with 5 mornings a week - not only can I not afford that, I'm not sure that I could bear it. I make the effort to get there another 2-3 times per week, besides my workouts with Jodi, but lately I've not been too successful at that.

Last night I was flipping through a magazine, and there was an article about Gabrielle Reece and Laird Hamilton, their gorgeous kid and home in Hawaii. There was a quote over a photo of Gaby working out, and she talked about how working out has to be like your job - some days you don't feel like going to work, but you've gotta go anyway, and that you have to adopt the same attitude about working out or you won't be successful. That really hit home for me. So as I was just starting to wake up this morning, still groggy from lack of sleep and slowly coming out of my dreams, I started to try to talk myself out of going to the gym. Oh, you can head over there on the way home from work tonight. Oh, what's the big deal if I go tomorrow instead? Oh, I'll take a walk at lunch instead. I was suddenly aware of how easy it was for me to make excuses, and resolved to just cut it out. The truth is that I feel great if I go and do my workout, it really changes my entire day. I KNOW this, so why can't I just quit arguing with myself and go?

I don't intend to turn this into a weight-loss blog, but reading about Ali's efforts really helped me get clear on my goals, so I am in turn sharing this with you.

We're back from the loooonnnngggg weekend at the track. This was our first motorcycle event of the season, and the weather was glorious on the first day, just ideal conditions. However, Saturday night a storm rolled in, and I spent hours in bed, listening to the thunder and the rain and the hail and the wind, just waiting for the trailer to be knocked over. Luckily that didn't happen, but it did ruin our second day of riding. The track was wet, the ground was muddy, and the storms returned mid-day. All in all, it was a successful event, since both days sold out, but it would have been nice if we'd had better weather. I'm just glad to be back, I'm so completely spent after three days of sleeping in a trailer and sporadic access to a shower. I hereby commit to not making any plans for at least two weeks, other than my girls night out this week (I'm not skipping that!).



P.S. I read in the news this morning that those same storms we experienced Saturday night went on to kill 27 people across the midwest. Yikes. I can believe it, it was as bad as any weather I've seen before.

Ugh. I have the worst headcold. I don't think it's good when your teeth ache, right?

Back soon. I need to guzzle a couple of glasses of red wine so I can sleep.

I've gotten so lazy about posting lately - part of it is that I've become spoiled by being able to use photos, but I haven't been taking many lately.

Work continues to be really busy, far more so than I expected when I took the job last fall. The strange thing is, where I used to resent every moment I spent in the office (at the former job, the make me want to stick needles into my eyeballs job), now an 8 or 9 hour day flies by. Part of it is that I genuinely like the work I'm doing and the people I'm working with. I'm not suggesting that the last job had no redemptive value - it paid a salary (always a good thing), they had FANTASTIC benefits - so much so that a lot of people never left, even though they were just as miserable as I was, and there were a handful of people that I really cared about. BUT, the new gig is a far better place for me. The work is challenging and changes, there is always something new to learn, and the powers-that-be are always willing to let me try new things, constantly improving my skills, the whole package.

Love the new car, too. It came just in time for the March winter that has descended on this part of Colorado. It's been snowing on and off for the past four days, and the high temps have been about 30°. The truck handles beautifully in the wet (assuming I drop it into 4-wheel drive), and I really do feel safe in it. My only scary moment so far was this morning, sitting in the left turn lane at a light near my house. I saw a pickup coming up in my rearview mirror, and I could tell he was going WAY too fast for the conditions (I had hit the sheet of black ice he was headed for just minutes before I saw him), and I was watching, just knowing that he was about to hit me and hard. Luckily, he also figured this out, and cranked his wheel to the right so he ended up beside me instead of in my trunk. Fracking people - when will they learn? Driving a big heavy vehicle does not make you immune to ice!!

Okay - yes, I got a new car. Those of you who know me know that my other car was only two years old, so let me explain.

I have been driving a 2004 Subaru Outback Sport Wagon. It's a lovely car, handles beautifully, great gas mileage, the works. Then, about 6 months ago, I was nearly hit head-on by a Tahoe. Only through the grace of Buddha did I not get hit. It TOTALLY freaked me out, because I know that if that big monster had hit me, I'd be dead, or at least really fucked up. Ever since, I've wanted to be back in an SUV - I know all the arguments against them, believe me - I'm one of the ones who has always spouted off those arguments. But I was scared, and then I was scared to have Joey and Mare in the car, and I was nervous taking it on road trips, and that's just not like me. I couldn't get the idea out of my head that I needed to get back into an SUV.

So I started looking around, checking prices, reading crash test results and safety ratings. It seems that short of a mini-van, I can't do much better than a 4Runner. I focused on the 2001 and 2002 models, they seem to be a good value. We found one at a dealership in Golden, and drove down last night after work to take a look.

The car was in good shape, no body damage, pretty straightforward. Alex surprised me by saying that he didn't think we should do it, because for $10k more, we could have a brand new one. You could have knocked me over with a feather! He never wants to buy things, much less spend MORE on anything. But that's what we did. We bought an '06 4Runner SR5 with 4-wheel drive. It's really a lovely ride. It's more than roomy for those of us who stand over 6 feet tall, plenty of cargo room for the Wonder Dog, and the back seat is comfortable, too. I am now in debt up to my neck for a car, but I'm doing well at work and have the ability to work more if I want, so I'll do that for a while and make extra payments. The best part (aside from the fact that I can plug my iPod into the car and listen seamlessly through the stereo) is that I feel safe.

Lookee what I got....

I'm still here! I have a bunch of news & posts and the like stored up, just haven't had a chance to get organized. I'll do that as soon as I can.

I was in San Diego last week for business, god how I miss California sometimes. I had lunch with a friend that I met on my high school swim team, 20 years ago. He looks exactly the same, just some crinkling around the eyes. Just to test my memory, I picked up my rental car and declined the map, tried to just find my way around. With the exception of one wrong turn off a freeway exit, I did great.

I'm dashing now, Alex and I are going shopping for a present for me. More on that later....

Tonight we have a hockey game - for those who don't know, I bought season tickets for the Avalanche this year. Well, I bought 1/3 of a pair of season tickets. My friend Tara and her husband each had a pair of season tickets going into their marriage, and they are side by side (so four seats all together). Each season, they break a pair of the tickets up into a 3 part series - so I go to a total of about 11 home games this season. Tonight, Tara and her husband are exhausted from having just returned from a trip, so I picked up their tickets as well. Alex and I are taking the kids, they love going to the games.

I love hockey, I always have. Living in Vail as a child, we didn't have an ice rink until we'd lived there about 3 years (we skated on a frozen pond prior to that). Once the arena was built, we'd head over there nearly every day after school. Most days were just free skate, but we also organized our little informal hockey teams and beat the shit out of each other with out sticks. I still have scars on my shins, since we didn't know about pads or helmets or any other protective gear.

As an adult, I find hockey exhilarating, but only if you can see it live. Football and basketball I'm content to watch on TV, but not hockey. Being there, listening to the crowd, being on your feet or poised to scream for most of the game - there is nothing like it. I love how you get to know the styles of the players - like I know that if Rob Blake is anywhere on the opponent's side of the blue line, he's just waiting for the pass that lets him pull out that big gun and fire a shot that's like a bullet. Maybe I'll get to see one of those tonight....

I LOVE sales on CDs! I stopped into the Borders near my office on my way back from lunch, and scored 6 CDs for about $40. Today's purchases:

Prince - The Hits 2
Deep Purple - The Very Best of Deep Purple
Control Machete - Uno, Dos: Bandera
Bill Withers - The Best of Bill Withers: Lean on Me
Green Day - Dookie
KC & The Sunshine Band - I'm Your Boogie Man and Other Hits

I know, the last one is questionable - but I've been rocking out to "I'm Your Boogie Man" and "Boogie Shoes" all afternoon. Well worth the $1 that CD cost me.

This made me happy today.

Alex came home last night. I threw the dog in the car and picked him up at the airport - she wore herself out, she was so excited to see him again.

I've never had a dog that preferred sleeping flat on her back. I confess, I put the baby in her arms, but she did bring it up on the couch with her....

Alex was away this weekend, so off I went to a guilt-free matinee. I've been anxious to see "Capote", and I'm so glad I went. Philip Seymour Hoffman was remarkable. Really. I had really been hoping that Heath Ledger would win an Oscar for "Brokeback Mountain", but after seeing "Capote"....you just can't believe that this is the same guy who sharted in "Along Came Polly". He was flawless. The movie moved a bit slowly at times, but I was so wrapped up in watching Capote and his mannerisms and the way he spoke and the way he manipulated people - take my word for it. This one is not to be missed.

I'm babysitting this weekend. In a way, it's a lot like looking after someone's child. He woke me up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, he was fussy about eating his dinner, and my kid was mean to him at first.

My friends just adopted this dog from the local humane society. He had no tags, no microchip, and no one came looking for him, which is almost impossible to believe once you meet him. He has the sweetest disposition of any dog I've met in a long time. They named him Buckwheat, but I call him Buck. He loved me, and even posed for a photo.

Today will most likely be a very productive day at work - all of the "snow sissies" stayed home.

I don't usually gamble or buy lottery tickets, but the Powerball drawing tonight is worth $300,000,000 - so we put a little pool together at work and bought 40 tickets. With my share, it's worth $75,000,000 if we win - I'd say that's worth a trip around the corner to buy tickets, even if it is 15° outside.

Since I'm currently running with the "things that happen on the way to work" theme, I'll give you another this morning. When I head west on Pearl Street toward my office, the road narrows from two lanes to one, and drops to a 30 mph zone. This morning, I was in the left lane (the primary lane, the right must merge into the left), and doing a little over the speed limit, when this ENORMOUS freaking SUV roared past me on the right, and cut over into my lane. He had been tailgating me for about a block, until he could pull out to the right. I started laughing out loud - the moment he pulled in front of me, he had to slam on his brakes, because there was another car directly ahead. He was forced to follow that car for five blocks at 30 mph, and I could see him banging his hands on his steering wheel the whole time. At one point, we were stopped at a light, and I caught his eye in the side mirror. I was still laughing at him, and I could see on his face that he knew it. I hope he felt like the complete idiot that he is.

I was driving to work today in my normal early pre-coffee daze, and noticed that the glass doors to a law firm a few doors down from my office had 2 red hearts taped to them. I remember thinking how cool that was, that the stodgy old lawyers could publicly offer up valentines to everyone today. A second glance around at the storefronts on Pearl Street revealed that EVERY ONE OF THEM had a red heart taped to the door. Some band of rowdies, armed with paper hearts and tape dispensers, had descended on Pearl Street in the wee hours of the morning, in order to wish us all a happy Valentine's day. When I stopped in at Allison to get my morning schitzo skinny latte (half caffeinated w/ non-fat milk, for you non-drinkers), I asked them about the heart - they said it was taped to their door when they arrived at 5am, they have no idea who put it there. My friend at work is speculating that it's the downtown Boulder business association or some such group, but I prefer to think of Brownies or pure-hearted college kids or something....

Re: that photo - I can't begin to explain what a pain in the ass it was to post. Mostly because I'm too cheap to pay for Internet service for my phone. I took this photo w/ my trusty phone, which is equipped with Bluetooth - but unfortunately, my stupid Wincrap laptop is not. I didn't have my camera cable with me today (my cell phone can use the camera cable to connect to a USB device), so that wouldn't work either. Then, like a scene from a cartoon, the light bulb went on over my head - I have my trusty Mac with me today! My Mac has a Bluetooth built in! It senses my cell phone, and accesses it like a separate drive. In less than 2 minutes, I had exchanged keys and transferred the photo, then emailed it to myself so I could have it on my Wincrap machine. And lo, there was photo evidence of the Valentine's Day mystery.

I love movies, but I usually end up going to see them alone. My best friend doesn't get out much (what with soon-to-be-three-years-old twin boys and all), so when we do get together, we generally want nothing more than to blaze through Old Navy, and then have a drink or three. My husband won't go to any movie without groaning and rolling his eyes, unless there is a promise of nudity, preferably girl on girl.

This afternoon, I went to see "Good Night, and Good Luck". It had long since left Boulder, but after the Oscar nominations were announced, it returned to one of our two local theaters. Fearing that it would soon be leaving so that they could show "Firewall" on yet another screen at that theater, I went to a matinee, even though I have one million and one things to do right now (prepare for taxes, do laundry, clean house, prep for taxes, clean out fridge and pantry, prep for taxes, get an oil change...oh yeah, did I mention it's tax season?).

I loved the movie. It absolutely flew by - I couldn't believe it when the closing credits came up, I felt like I'd barely been in my seat 20 minutes. I found myself talking to the screen out loud during the film (could be another reason Alex won't go with me), muttering "amen" after one of Murrow's frank and succinct commentaries about exactly why there is no place in a thoughtful society for a nut job like McCarthy.

That's three down ("Brokeback Mountain", "Crash", and "Good Night, and Good Luck") and two more ("Capote" and "Munich") to see before Oscar night.

Some of you may not know this, but I am a knitter. Not the kind that can make hats or gloves or sweaters - well, really, all I can make is scarves. I made several last year as Christmas gifts, and gave them to a few of my girlfriends...actually, more of my friends would have gotten them for Christmas, but I couldn't knit any faster.

I just started a new one and for the first time am combining "fun fur" with the wool. I have a friend with MS who recently had to go into a nursing home, so I'm hoping that this will brighten up her day just a little bit....

Well, what do you know. It snowed after all. I guess when they give the odds as "90% chance of snow", it's a pretty safe bet.

Like LA, where people drive like complete idiots if one drop of rain falls from the sky, some people in Colorado don't have a firm grasp on how to drive in the snow. I suspect this is all because they used to live in LA. Traffic on a snowy morning is a hideous thing, so I once again took advantage of my new Eco Pass and took the bus. My car commute on a morning like this would be about 20 minutes, just because people would be driving like asses - large SUVs would still be flying down the road at 45mph, thinking that they're immune because their large heavy vehicles have the ability to use 4-wheel drive. It never ceases to amaze me. I promise you that the majority of car accidents that I respond to in the winter months are SUVs that have slid or flipped right off the icy roads, because they were going too fast and just assumed that their 4-wheel drive tank was keeping them safe.

I have nothing exciting to write about. It's a crazy busy week with a big deadline looming on Monday. There's a 90% chance of snow tonight, with a forecasted high tomorrow of 28°. Everyone is taking home their laptops tonight on the off-chance that either they won't be able to get here tomorrow, or they just won't feel like trying.

Ruby the wonder dog loves her babies....

I love Saturday mornings, especially when I don't commit to be somewhere doing something. I have work to get done today, so I can sit on my couch, laptop in my lap, dog sleeping on one leg (she always competes with the computer for space in my lap), coffee beside me, and "Surviorman" playing in the background. Alex likes to sleep in late on the weekends, so I generally have the house to myself for at least a couple of hours.

My plan for today is to not move too far from the couch. I've been working hard and I'm tired, and I can tell I'm getting burned out. We have a couples baby shower to attend tonight (yeah, Alex is SOOO excited to do that with me) for our friends who are expecting their first baby in April.

I go out to lunch nearly every weekday with my co-worker, Greg. Today we walked up the Pearl Street mall to a Chinese place that I normally avoid, because I recall someone once telling me that it was very expensive. Turns out that they have pretty decent prices for lunch, and it was possibly the freshest, tastiest Chinese food I've had since leaving LA. They seated us at the very back of the restaurant, even though the entire front area was empty. I soon found out why. About 60 little old ladies (the youngest was probably about 65) arrived slowly in pairs or groups of three or four, and they all settled in for lunch together. They had special menus, and some kind of party favor at each place setting. It was really sweet.

Tonight, Alex and I are going to see "A History of Violence" at the Boulder Theater, part of my attempt to see all nominated films / performances before Oscar night. I'm hosting a party again this year, I think this makes three in a row. I would welcome any suggestions for nominated-film-inspired foods. We're doing Best Picture beer (5 varieties, which will somehow reflect each of the nominated films), and I have some of those plastic movie theater-style popcorn boxes, and we'll play Oscar bingo. What else?

A little meme - I've seen this one around, most recently at Julia's:

Four jobs I've had:
1. Film & television script researcher
2. Satellite marketing whiz
3. EMT
4. Technical editor

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. "True Romance"
2. "To Kill A Mockingbird"
3. "Raising Arizona"
4. "A Fish Called Wanda"

Four places I've lived:
1. Boulder, Colorado
2. Winter Park, Florida
3. Salt Lake City, Utah
4. Los Angeles, California

Four TV shows I love:
1. Alias
2. Brainiac: Science Abuse
3. Survivorman
4. Grey's Anatomy

Ten highly regarded and recommended TV shows that I've never watched:
1. Arrested Development
2. Deadwood
3. Everybody Loves Raymond
4. George Lopez
5. My Name Is Earl
6. King of Queens
7. Medium
8. The Shield
9. Boston Legal
10. The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, The Biggest Loser, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, etc.
(okay, I ran out of juice at the end there - but just wanted to point out that I don't watch those shows)

Four places I've vacationed:
1. Hawaii
2. Hong Kong
3. Amsterdam
4. Mexico

Four of my favorite dishes:
1. Roasted chicken
2. butternut squash soup
3. grilled tri tip
4. green beans with almonds

Four sites I visit daily:
1. Yahoo
2. Gmail
3. Wells Fargo
4. Dictionary.com

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Italy
2. France
3. Spain
4. at the dog park

Ha ha ha - the State of the Union Address Drinking Game, via Ali. I might actually play this tonight.

Saturday was my debut effort at snowboarding. I took a "First Timer" lesson w/ the kids, and I'm so glad that I did. It's a little bit less embarrassing to fall on your ass every 20 seconds when everyone around you is doing the same thing. In general, I enjoyed it and seemed to get the hang of it pretty well, but what the f*@! is up with getting back on your feet while facing downhill? Apparently I have negative ab muscles, because I just couldn't do it. I kept having to flip over onto my belly like some gigantic mermaid so that I could get to my knees and then right myself.

I persevered and made it through one complete lesson. I do want to try again, but will definitely be wearing knee pads next time, maybe even wrist guards. I know now why people train for ski season. Every muscle in my entire body aches. I came home from the mountain and immediately fell asleep on my living room floor. When I got up, I drew the hottest bath I could stand, and soaked for a half an hour, continually refilling the bathtub with hot water. I thought that might help with what I was sure would be agony the next day - WRONG! Yesterday was a long series of crawls from room to room, complete with whimpers. Just sitting down on the couch was murder on my belly. So, what do you do when you're in that much pain?

Drink lots and lots of wine
Try not to move from the couch (except to get another bottle of wine)
Try to figure out which pain killer can be taken with wine
Stay up too late because you don't want to move from the couch
Get up early the next morning and go to the gym

Yeah, that last one makes me laugh, too, but that's what I did. It's my husband's influence. He said since I was already in pain, I might as well go work out, then I wouldn't notice being sore after my workout. He's a prince like that.

Oh Lordy. Breakfast this morning at Lucile's. Turns out that biscuits and grits are in fact the cure for the hangover caused by a combination of tequila and free-flowing Stella Artois. If the sun weren't quite so bright today, I'd be doing much better.

Snowboarding on the horizon for tomorrow. I'm taking lessons (hey, I've never done it before!), and dragging my teenage niece and nephew along so I don't feel quite so out of place. We've got a charming little resort about 30 minutes from here.

To tie these thoughts together, the site of my undoing last night (Conor O'Neill's) is having a "worst breakup contest" on February 15th. You get up on stage, tell your story, they vote, and the winner of the worst story wins.....a Stella snowboard! How cool is that? I will spend the next couple of weeks working on my story. If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments....

One of the best things that happened after switching jobs was that I had a chance to visit with my very oldest friend, Lawrence. We met for drinks while I was in CA on business - not exactly enough time to catch up, but we try to get together every few years and just shoot the shit. I've known him since I was 17 years old. I send him a Christmas card and a birthday card every year. He represents an important time in my life, and he loves me to pieces. He's getting married this spring to a woman that he adoringly refers to as "my girl", and he can't wait to be a dad. He is one of the finest people I know. I hope that one day down the road, I can point to a number of other people and feel as close to them. There are a few who are already there, we just don't have years of history like I do with Lawrence. It makes me feel grounded in the world, I don't know how else to describe it.

I was just sitting here, rereading my last post, and I said to my coworker, "Dude, that was the most boring post!" - I can't help it! It's freaking dumping snow, and so cold that I don't want to go anywhere. I've got my iPod plugged into my little desktop doc, and we're listening to the soundtrack from the final episode of "Six Feet Under".

I'm enjoying the new job, and not just because every day involves lunch out at a different restaurant. It's a new experience, coming in and having people say "gosh, we're so glad you're here, you totally rock!" (okay, they don't say that verbatim, but you get the idea) My last job really scarred me, I keep waiting for people to be mean and abusive and try to belittle me - but thank Buddha that isn't happening.

It's snowing once again today, and is supposed to continue through tonight. While it's making all of the local snowbirds happy, it presents a problem when you're supposed to drive 20 miles to the car dealership BEFORE work to drop off the car. Leaving my house at 7am would have normally allowed plenty of time for me to drive down to Thornton, pick up the loaner and drive back to work, and still get me into the office by 8am. Instead, it was close to 10am when I finally got in. The sort of good news is that I have my car instead of a loaner - I got all the way down there, and they didn't have the loaner that they promised they would give me, so I demanded that they move my car to the front of the service line and do the work while I waited. There may have also been smiles and batting of eyelashes involved - they did what I asked, finished the work in about 25 minutes, and sent me on my way with the promise of a free car wash if I came back again after the snow stops.

Miss Mockingbird is in fine form. This cracked me up.

Yes, there is a new look to the blog today. I saw a story in the news that most web site visitors make up their minds about whether or not they like a site in the blink of an eye, and that once that opinion is formed, they don't generally go back. I've been thinking for a while that the colors in my site were kind of gloomy - maybe that was just my mood for a while. On the other hand, I know of at least one wonderful blog that I rarely read because I don't like the type/font that he/she uses on the site (no, I won't tell you which one). I find that it actually kind of hurts somehow to try to read it. I don't want to fall victim to the same thing, so I'm trying something new. If I had lots more time and lots more talent, I would build something from scratch, but for now I'll settle for the oh-so-slightly-familiar look of this Blogger template. Feel free to tell me what you think.

It's snowing! Finally. Our mountain towns and resorts have had some good snowfall already this season, but down here in the foothills, it's been dry as a bone. There were a couple of inches on the ground this morning when I woke up, and it's started going much harder in the last hour or so. My dog is probably out playing in the snow as I write. My trees are loving this, too - we've been watering and all, but I've got pines and small evergreens that are just loving this weather.

The best part of this is that there will be even more good snow in the mountains this weekend. I'm taking the kids snowboarding on Sunday, we're all having lessons. I've never done it in my life, but I grew up skiing - I'm hopeful that will count for something.

I'm so lame when it comes to music. I can never remember the names of who sings what, or what album it's from, or even what genre I like. I tend to listen to eclectic stations (KCRW Santa Monica is my favorite), and this is one reason that I'm so fond of Radio Paradise. I've been listening on my computer at work, and every once in a while I'll hear something I really like, and I scribble it down on my desk blotter. Later, I power up the Mac, since I'm not fortunate enough to be able to use it for work, and I'll go to iTunes and buy the song. Today's purchases:

Gold Digger - Kanye West w/ Jamie Foxx
Mambo Banjo - Alison Brown Quartet
Sweet Emotion - Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon

A wrap-up meme for 2005, courtesy of Julia:

Did you keep your New Years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make any last year, and don't intend to have any this year.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not in 2005, but three of my closest girlfriends became pregnant.

Did anyone close to you die?
Fortunately, no.

What countries did you visit?
None, unless you consider Pacific Junction, IA and Brainerd, MN to be other countries.

What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
More free time at home.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting a new job and leaving a place that was making me miserable.

What was your biggest failure?
I dropped out of one of my classes at school, I just couldn't get it together and make time for the work.

What was the best thing that you bought?
My husband's wedding band.

Whose behavior merited celebration?
My niece and nephew, who moved to a new state and started new schools and made new friends - I am so impressed by them.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I'd rather not say.

Where did most of your money go?
Paying for a small but wonderful wedding.

What did you get really excited about?
My wedding.

What song will always remind you of 2005?
"Use Me" by Bill Withers

Compared to this time last year, are you:
Happier or Sadder?
Much happier.

Thinner or fatter?
Slightly thinner.

Richer or poorer?
A little bit richer, and not just in terms of $$$

What do you wish you'd done more of?
Hiking with hubby and the dog.

What do you wish you'd done less of?
Sitting inside, being one with the TiVo.

How will you be spending Christmas?
I spent Christmas with my family.

Did you fall in love in 2005?
Yes, all over again.

How many one-night stands?
For better or worse, I think that's all behind me.

What was your favorite TV program?
"CSI" (the orignal), much to my husband's chagrin.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I don't hate anyone.

What was the best book you read?
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Radio Paradise (thanks, Ali)

What did you want and get?
A new job.

What did you want and not get?
A new bathroom.

What were your favorite films of this year?
"Brokeback Mountain"
"The Squid and the Whale"
"Crash"

What did you do on your birthday?
Went out for drinks with a bunch of friends in Denver.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
My pants should never approach my waist.

What kept you sane?
My sister, my girlfriends and my dog.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Dr. McDreamy on "Grey's Anatomy" (Patrick Dempsey)

What political issue stirred you the most?
Supreme Court retirements and replacements.

Who did you miss?
My dad

Who was the best new person that you met?
Laurel, the girl who tints my eyelashes and waxes my eyebrows.

Tell us a valuable life lesson that you learned in 2005.
Pick your battles carefully and don't sweat the little stuff. It may be cliché, but it's the truth.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
But oh baby, baby, baby, baby
When you love me I can't get enough
I-I and I, wanna spread the news
That if it feels this good getting used
Oh, you just keep on using me
Until you use me up

I received an email re: my previous post, asking why a nice girl like me has suddenly resorted to cursing on her blog. Huh. Well. I don't know what to say, other than it strikes me as odd that a complete stranger thinks that they know enough about me and my personality to suggest that I'm acting somehow out of character. I guess that's yet another thing that these Internets do for us.

It did make me think though. When I first started this blog, I WAS worried about people I knew reading it, or maybe I just posted carefully lest they did. After one BAAADDDD episode with a member of my family, I resolved to keep it light and stay away from the personal stuff. But the more I think about it, I wonder what the point of that is. Let's be honest, I am reaching out to people every time I post, so why not be who you are? I don't mean blogging as a substitute for face time with people, but some days it's all I can do to go to work and come home to make dinner. I am not burdened with an excess of free time. I see my girlfriends a couple of times a month. I see my family once a week. The rest of the time, I'm working or I'm resting from working or I'm trying to drag my ass off to exercise. So blogging and/or reading blogs is (for me) like meeting a friend for coffee, only I can take a few minutes out of my day instead of blowing off work for the morning.

There are a handful of blogs that I really look forward to reading. They are on the list at the right. I try to read most of them daily, but sometimes I only make it over to my true favorites. They have in turn directed me to other blogs that they enjoy, and I've found some great sites that way. That's what I like best. It's like having your friend introduce you to their friend, who becomes your friend, too. A whole new world.

Apparently it's National Delurking Week. Say hello, won't you?


Sorry to bounce back from a long absence with a rant, but what the fuck is up with customer service lately? They really shouldn't be able to call it that anymore, it should be renamed "Customer Patience Testing Center" or "Customer Proctology Exam" or something. A couple of examples:

1. The CD player in my little Subaru died. It ate a CD and will play said CD, but won't give it back. Now, I like the soundtrack from "Garden State", but after being able to listen to no other CDs in the car for the past 3 months, I'm pretty sick of it. You heard right - THREE MONTHS. It has been two months to the day since I contacted the dealer about repair, they said they had to order me a new one and would replace it free of charge (under warranty) - and they still don't have the fucking stereo. How hard can it be for a Subaru dealer to obtain a Subaru radio? I call them faithfully every week. First they lost record of my service inquiry, then they had the stereo but accidentally installed it in someone (more pushy than me, obviously) else's car, then they seem to have this endless delay in ordering a new one for me. Gah! I want to sell my car, but I can't do that until the damn stereo is fixed. It's only a two year old car! I fear that by the time they get around to doing this, it will no longer be under warranty. Maybe that is the Master Plan.

2. My pharmacy is unable to provide me with birth control pills. Despite the fact that I live in the most liberal part of these midwest United States, it seems that my local, family-owned pharmacy is in fact in league with the uber-right or some such shit. They're supposed to mail my pills to my home each month, and for some reason just stopped sending them. My idiot insurance company won't let them give me more than one month at a time, and since I skip the placebo week (long story), I need a new pack every three weeks. I am now a week and one day late on starting a new pack. I keep offering to come get them, and they claim that the pills are en route, or that my coming in will throw off their schedule (like it could be much worse) -- so unfortunately for my husband, it's either no sex or we're back to the days of french letters. Oh joy.