Dody's World

Hawaii photo selected for guide

2008-11-28T13:31:00.003-07:00

Got an email today that my photo (posted on Flickr) of the moon over the Kohala coast on the big island of Hawaii was selected for the Schmap Hawaii Sixth Edition.

I've added a cool widget to the sidebar too.

Hawaii dreaming on a cold day ...

Airport reunions - caught for the news

2008-11-28T12:37:00.002-07:00

Two of my sisters waited for a third Wednesday night at DIA. A local news team from Fox was on hand and asked Annie who she was waiting for at the place where the trains empty out. She pointed to sister Maggie and said, "ask her." Maggie sniffled a bit and said she was waiting for her twin Sara from Albuquerque, whom she only sees a couple times a year. They showed her waiting and then the hugging as Sara and husband Aaron came up the stairs. Even the newscaster was verklempt. She called Sara when she arrived at the gate to tell her there was a news team but Sara didn't believe her so she was quite surprised to see the real cameras when she came up the stairs.

See the story online.

Fragile, please mangle with care

2008-11-26T11:01:00.002-07:00

Have you ever noticed that packages marked "Fragile" always look like they've been attacked by a school of piranha? Lately all packages seem to have a mauled appearence but the ones marked Fragile are the worst for wear. The Fragile seems to irk those in the package handling business. Maybe it's not Italian but a secret, package-handler language that means "please use package for bowling."

Viva la Vida

2008-11-22T17:33:00.002-07:00

Coldplay was in town last night for our first concert in almost a year. It was nice to get out but we were sleepy (busy week, we're old, we're parents). We also had the really scary seats -- nice view but I was getting vertigo. The show opened with a band from east Texas, Sleepercar. They were new to me (I joke that I get all my new music from Grey's Anatomy or One Tree Hill, but it's true). They were pretty good.

Coldplay, however, was fantastic. I really like their music. Someone made fun of me a couple of weeks ago when I excitedly mentioned that I was going to the show. This person accused them of being a U2 soundalike. I haven't yet bought the new Coldplay album but have heard a few of the songs. I heard more last night. Funny, to me, they sound like Coldplay!

One of my favorite parts of the concert was when they released all these colored bits of paper (like leaves, or really more like snow) and then turned on the black lights. Very cool.

Cat Food

2008-11-20T10:15:00.003-07:00

I'm in the cat food aisle the other day picking up dry food. Our two boys get a mix because one kind is never good enough. So I pick up Indoor Cat, Hairball Remedy, and Urinary Tract Health varieties. I usually add a senior variety to the mix -- since Sebastian is almost 17 and Toby is 12. The food has names like "Active Maturity" and "Vibrant Senior". This describes Sebastian pretty well.

But they don't have "Throw Rug" and "Lazy Lump of Fur" varieties for the lazy one. Oh well, maybe the Active Maturity will get Toby moving more.

After all, he's a model now. Catch his beautiful mug as Mr. June in the 2009 Denver Dumb Friends League calendar. (The picture above).

Duke Gary Winston - we will miss you...

2008-03-14T12:26:00.007-06:00

When it comes to our pets, life is really too short. In our Duke's case, it was shorter than most. Just 16 months ago, Mark and I rescued Duke from a local animal shelter. He was a beautiful chocolate brown German Shorthair pup about 8 months old. We got to be with him for about half a day before we handed him off to his new family: my sister Sara, her husband Aaron and their English Pointer, Mollie.

On Wednesday, Duke developed GDV (known as bloat), and his stomach flipped with his intestines twisted around it. They tried emergency surgery but this morning discovered the stitches wouldn't hold. They tried to repair those with a second surgery but he didn't make it.

He joins our Flounder in the land of the slow-moving squirrels, as well as his predecessor Gunner, who died of cancer a month before we rescued Duke. He also joins another sister's two dogs Max and Paisley, whom we also lost this past year.

As hard as it is on all of us, it's probably hardest on poor Mollie who lost two of her companions now.

We'll miss you Duke.

(Belated) Happy New Year

2008-01-18T09:27:00.000-07:00

I don't really have a list of resolutions this year. This year is going to be the biggest change of my life so pretty much am going to just take it as it comes. But as usual, hoping to be more organized, set priorities, clear out the clutter, and have fun. :-) An easy list...

Flounder

2007-11-23T00:55:00.000-07:00

It just isn't fair, is it? The time we get with our four-legged friends is terribly short.

Our black labrador (a "blabrador" we liked to call her) left us today. It was so quick that I'm not sure it really has sunk in. The last two weeks she had started to slow down, more than her usual arthritic self. Today really wasn't any different. She went out this morning for an all-neighborhood dog emergency bark and seemed a little peppy. Besides the new slowness we attributed to a cut on her leg, nothing really seemed out of the ordinary.

But then she got sick. And in a short time after that vomited blood. We took her to the emergency clinic. In what seems like an even shorter time (although in reality was several hours), she worsened. Her organs started to fail. She went into cardiac arrest in front of me and was brought back.

Then came that inevitable decision. What do you do? Of course, I wanted her to be around for another 10 years. I wanted her to be happy, pain-free, healthy. But there were other plans for her. In the end, we had to let her go. She was too weak for surgery, which only had a slim chance of telling us what was wrong, much less fixing it. It was her time, even if we weren't ready for it.

I knew this was coming someday but didn't think it would be today. Although my intuition was that it would be sooner rather than later. In May, as we crossed the finish line of the Furry Scurry, I felt this overwhelming grief that was her last one.

As we said our goodbyes, my husband through sobs said she was off to the world of slow-moving squirrels, a place she will be very happy.

Now to go on with this huge hole in our lives. I have to tell myself she lived a wonderful life. It may not have been as long as I wanted it to be but it was good. I have to tell myself I made the right decision to let her go. The vet was honest and experienced. He gave us all the options and suggestions. I have to tell myself that people go through all sorts of loss and are able to continue on with life. I have three more furries here with lots of love and a non-furry on the way.

But right now, I just miss my baby girl and the smell of her head.

Rest in peace, Flounder. We love you.

Ms January!

2007-11-09T14:39:00.003-07:00

My 2008 Denver Dumb Friends League calendar arrived today. My Flounder is Ms January!

The photo was shot last December after our first big blizzard. Sarah-Dog also is in the calendar on one of the collage pages.

Lost reference in Chuck

2007-10-02T11:02:00.000-06:00

One of my new favorite shows is Chuck on NBC. He's a regular Joe, a bit on the geeky side who accidentally downloads government secrets into his head. In Monday night's episode, he is being tested by a doctor to see what he knows. He starts spouting off various secrets and one is "Oceanic flight 815 was shot down ..." which is a reference to the flight that crashed in Lost. Pretty funny (especially since they're on different networks).

It's very unique

2007-09-23T14:14:00.000-06:00

I read in the paper about a "blog" on "unnecessary" quotation marks -- ones that are grammatically incorrect but have been added for some strange reason. It's hilarious and oh so sadly true. I work with words all day in many languages and see way too many over used quotation marks.

I was thinking about grammatical things that bug me. One is the use of over, instead of more than. "The committee raised over $2 million." To me, the word "over" means a state of being, such as "the balloon hovered over the field." When we talk about something that can't physically be over something else, it should be "more than."

Another is the word unique. The definition means one-of-a-kind or unparalled. So when someone says "that's very unique," he or she is adding an unnecessary modifier. It's already one-of-a-kind, it can't get more unique than that.

And sometimes plans change

2007-09-07T16:12:00.000-06:00

Thankfully our Hawaii trip is flexible (using miles and timeshare, etc) as we now have to postpone it to later. Plans have changed -- mostly for the good but will be better when I am not so sick!

Baby butter bean is what is making me so sick. She doesn't like anything I eat. I have a few more weeks of this and can't wait to be past it. Uhg! Why can't I have the pregnancy you see in movies? These people are hardly sick! Instead of morning sickness, I get 24-hour sickness.

Oh baby butter bean, you better be cute. I'll be reminding you how sick I was every year on your birthday (and probably will have a fun labor story too).

Hawaii on $20

2007-08-07T14:13:00.000-06:00

I love it when a plan comes together.

In my crazy frantic last couple of months I began to stress over getting our annual Hawaii trip together. We have a timeshare week this year. I also realized that we both had enough miles for a place ticket each.

Since we wanted to go in September, time was now to get the show on the road. First I called the owner services in Maui. The woman was awesome -- you have to submit your request in writing but email counts. She looked at the dates I requested (based on award dates available from United's site), told me there was a few left and to email immediately. I did and she confirmed it within minutes.

On to the United site, I found good flights for our time frame and booked them. Ends up it's on 35k a ticket for reward miles. We had thought it was 60k per ticket (it's this once the reward miles run out). So total for airfare - $20! So I used 70 of my 85k miles and we still have a whole trip left on Mark's miles.

I love it! I'm dreaming of the sea and sand already. :-)

The people you meet on public transportation

2007-08-06T18:35:00.000-06:00

I took the bus downtown a couple of weeks ago to meet friends for an early showing of Harry Potter. While I was taking the 16th Street Mall shuttle, an older woman with a cane came on the bus which was on the full side. "Ma'am", I said, "would you like my seat."

"No, No," she insisted and proceeded to tell me that once she started taking seats then she'd go downhill fast. It was bad enough she had the cane but she was going to fight it. She was pretty feisty and spoke quietly so I only got a couple of words here and there. As my stop appeared, I thanked her for chatting with me and stood up. Then she said, "well, maybe I will take a seat now."

At the theater, friend Pam who recently returned from a trip to London and Paris. In Paris, they ran into a group of obvious Americans trying to figure out where they needed to go -- without a map. She was amazed that not only were they wandering around a place they were unfamiliar with sans map, but clearly didn't speak the language to read the signs (or understand measurements -- 300m is not "just over there.")

Later as the hubby and I made out way back to the bus station we encountered the self-named "Irish contingent" from the Microsoft convention in town. They were looking for the Celtic Pub and were hoping they were going the right way. I laughed and said, you come all the way to Denver and you go to an Irish pub? The woman understood the reasoning and said, oh, they had been plenty of local spots -- including Elway's for dinner. Can't get more local than that.

When Mel Gibson walks by you at work ...

2007-07-10T15:38:00.000-06:00

Famous people never walk by my desk at work. Well, it's rare that anyone walks by my desk at work since my office is at home.

My sister Sara, a landscape architect in Albuquerque, was just plugging away at her cubicle when Mel Gibson walked by. It's funny to even write that line. If it were me, I would have believed I was just working too hard and hallucinating. (The working-to-hard part not too far from the truth.)

It seems Mr. Gibson is in ABQ to film his next project and would be using the company's studios for filming. He was touring the building when he ambled by my surprised sister.

Apparently the building layout is fairly open with cubicles and she said all you could hear was nervous tittering, giggling, and people whispering on the phone.

Wouldn't that be a hoot?

Wonder what they said when he left?

"Attention, Mel has left the building"

now THAT is the way to do a movie trailer

2007-07-09T13:53:00.000-06:00

It doesn't give the whole story, the best parts, or splice together scenes that don't actually appear (at least so far)... it makes you go WHOA... (and boy, the pressure this movie better not suck).

1.18.08 - the Trailer

Ass Effects and other stupid commercials

2007-07-06T09:47:00.001-06:00

I have the TV on a lot during the day while I work so I see/hear a lot of advertisements. There's a couple of ones that have made me laugh.

The mostly recent one is one for a new heartburn medicine called "Aciphex" -- said out loud sounds like "ass effects". Did these people not say it to one another before naming the drug that?

Another one that makes me snicker - -the paper towel one with the kid and the soda. He pulls a soda bottle out of the fridge and proceeds to shake it. The lid pops off and sprays his mother with orange soda. She yells at him "what are you thinking" and then grabs the water sprayer on the sink "this works much better" and they proceed to shower each other further. Yeah right. First of all moms everywhere are cringing with the message. It's going to take more than a paper towel to clean up that mess!

I'm melting!

2007-06-20T16:52:00.001-06:00

As the temp hits 98 degrees ... thought I would post a reminder of six months ago today (Dec. 20, 2006 - the start of the first big holiday blizzard)...

The yard is full of collies

2007-06-19T09:37:00.000-06:00

Early last Saturday morning, someone in my dream turned to me and said "the yard is full of collies."

Then I realized my husband was standing over me and he has just said it. I opened my eyes and see that dawn is just breaking. Barely. It's 4:30 am. I rubbed my eyes and said "Is one of them minature and named Max?"

I went upstairs and sure enough, it was Max, the minature collie and his buddy Rusty - not a collie, or even close. Rusty is a chow mix. Sarah-Dog had alerted Mark with her version of "THE YARD IS FULL OF COLLIES...THE YARD IS FULL OF COLLIES." (Which, ironically sounds a lot like "THE YARD IS FULL OF SQUIRRELS" and "THE YARD IS FULL OF UPS DELIVERY MEN".)

So if you have read my blog before you'll know the beginning of March, I wrangled Max and took him across town to his former address still listed on his tag (which luckily was still inhabited by some of his humans). Rusty, thankfully had a tag with the correct address -- about a block over and a block down.

Since clearly Sarah-Dog was verklemped -- there would be no more sleeping until the yard was free of collies. So I leashed up the wayward pups and at 5 am, walked them back to their house.

My intention was to slip them back into their own yard. But the gate was nailed shut (probably after their March escapade). Then I noticed the front door open (the screen door shut) and a pair of glasses laying on the step. As I approached, I smelled the reason someone had accidentally let the dogs out ... in a drunken stupor. Lovely. Holding my breath, I picked up the glasses and put them on the ledge. Carefully opened the screen door, de-leashed the pups and pushed their rumps inside. I made sure the screen door shut and then went back home to my bed.

The drunken fool who let them out probably didn't even know they were gone. Wonder if he/she found his/her glasses...

We were quite freaked out by how the wayward pups got into our backyard in the first place since the gate is normally shut. But pretty much determined the hubbie left it open after taking the trash out Thursday night and my girls mysteriously didn't notice it open when they were out on Friday.

Otherwise someone else may have woken up to "the yard is full of Labradors."

Joan of Arc survived

2007-05-30T15:34:00.000-06:00

On today's date (May 30) 1431, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Or was she? In a Da Vinci Code kind of way, there is an argument that she actually escaped the burning because she was a secret illegitimate daughter of a queen.

According to the alternate theory, Joan of Arc was smuggled out of the city and later secretly married a French nobleman Robert des Armoises. Another condemned witch took her place at the stake. She was much older than Joan of Arc's 23 years.

This theory is in a book published in the 1970s called Joan of Arc and Her Secret Missions. The author, Pierre de Sermoise states that Isabelle of Bavaria (wife of the half-mad King Charles VI of France) had an affair with the king's brother, Louis d'Orleans. Joan was born of this relationship on Nov 10, 1407. Louis was assasinated two weeks later and baby Joan was sent into hiding with the d'Arch (later changed to d'Arc) family in Domremy.

It was due to her royal birth that she was so well educated. The marriage certificate to Des Armoises identifies her as "Joan of France." She died in 1449. The author claims her tombstone is there with her symbol (celtic cross in a circle).

Of course there have been many historians arguing against this theory. Joan was made a saint in 1920. The theory also is disputed by the Roman Catholic church.

From further research, I've found that in 2006, Joan of Arc’s rib and some other relics were reported that they had survived her burning at the stake. Tests were conducted in Paris to find out if the remains were indeed hers, since it seemed unlikely anything could have survived such a fire and there long had been a legend that the ashes were tossed in the Seine. There was no way they could be proved to be Joan’s relics definitively since there was no authentic family DNA to compare them against. In April 2007, the results were the rib belonged to an Egyptian mummy from between the 7th and 3rd centuries BC!

The most favored explanation for all this was that holy relics were required in the 19th century before Joan could be beatified and canonized. What is more interesting perhaps is that the relics were in the possession of the Catholic Church all these centuries. Until recently they were housed at Chinon in a museum owned by the Archdiocese of Tours.

Like the Da Vinci Code story, perhaps this was part of a cover up by the church?

It's definitely an interesting theory. I have the book on order from amazon.uk (cheaper than the ones listed here, even with shipping).

There's a further reason that I am interested in this. If she really did survive, I am a descendant of hers through my maternal grandmother (surname Haderer). Several generations have been researching the link. I recently received an article from 1973 about the de Sermoise book with some papers from my aunt's cousin.

In memory of Laura Alexander

2007-05-28T12:19:00.000-06:00

Ruth Stewart died Friday May 18th after battling bipolar disorder. I got the benefit of knowing her for about 10 years. She was the only member of my ex's family I would have loved to keep.

Laura Alexander was her alias. As her disease waxed and waned, she had many grand ideas of writing books and traveling under this name.

As Ruth Stewart, she was a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother and a good friend. She was a firey liberal - one of the few 70-somethings I knew with a "legalize pot" sticker on her car. She was a caring and giving person, often to the point of her detriment.

Several years into my relationship, I had received a phone call from her. She was elated. She had an epiphany. She was the seventh child of the seventh child. She went on like this for awhile. I knew her to be well-educated and funny. I kept waiting for the punchline. It never came. After I had hung up with her, I called my now-ex at work and told him about the conversation. Oh no, he said. She's off her medication. That was the first I knew she had this disorder.

After my horrid split from her grandson, I began to lose track of Ruth. The breakup was really hard on me and I had to distance myself from everything related to him. I had sent a birthday card to her every year (Sept. 1). One year, it came back. Through one of her manic phases, Ruth had fallen prey to a refinance scheme that ultimately took her condo in a foreclosure. She decided to travel after that -- but essentially became homeless. I re-sent the card to a local shelter where she was staying but after a couple of months it too came back.

After time passed, I often wondered about what became of her. Unfortunately the disease changed her to someone other than the person she used to be. This happens too often to those affected by the disease.

The email from my ex came this last Monday on a bleak day I was already suffering my own loss. I felt terrible I had lost track of her but I know the Ruth I knew was gone a long time ago. There was no obituary and apparently no service. I understand the family was tired from dealing with the disease (as I now deal with those close to me with this disease) but she was still a great person and deserves a memorial.

Rest in peace, Ruth.

The Furries scurried

2007-05-19T12:54:00.000-06:00

Two weeks ago Flounder and her houndies (Sya, Sheena, and Oz) and their humans scurried their way around Washington Park. The day started out looking like cold and rain but managed to stay dry and perfect temp. Whew! Imagine a couple of thousand wet dogs!

Flounder and I raised $750 this year, which is our highest yet. She made the two mile trek but was a little slower this year. Around the curve of mile two, she started to lag behind until Pam mentioned there were frosty paws at the finish. That was all she needed to push her rump into turbo mode. (She ate two of them -- each in mere seconds).

We ended up getting there at 7am because I had woken up really early. This gave us plenty of time to wander the vendors and get lots of freebies. On the way down, she seemed a little confused at the distance of the car ride. But as soon as I parked near Washington Park, she got very excited. Amazing that she remembers the place since we're only there once a year. Her favorite is to check out the vendors because she knows they all have treats. She has perfected the "starving dog" look (even at a rotund 100 pounds).

Hopefully Sarah-dog and I will be able to do the Lucky Mutt Strut in July.

The cats could care less about all the buddy-buddy stuff (although wouldn't mind getting out and about) but they wanted me to post this link of their dreamhouse.

Now I get it ...

2007-05-17T13:09:00.000-06:00

Guess you have to see the whole commercial! It's for a Kohler toliet and the guy is frantically trying to back it up and is flushing all kinds of stuff down. (Apparently it's a super flush.) I couldn't figure out why the guy was trying to back it up. But fianlly saw it from the beginning. There's a hot plumber (named "Jo") who just pulled up next door.

They have some entertaining ads.

ACK! My tongue is black

2007-05-08T12:52:00.000-06:00

The following is a public service announcement:

Nothing worse to jolt you awake. I was sleepily brushing my teeth this morning when I noticed my toothbrush was turning black. What the ... I did already have my coffee but that usually is a little bit of brown. This was ink black. Then I opened my mouth. ACK! I look like that chick in Pirates of the Caribbean -- with the ink black mouth. I quickly take stock of the counter top. Nope, definitely toothpaste I am using. Crap! Did I chew on my pen earlier?

I check in with myself. Besides a little sleepy, I otherwise feel fine. Heart's beating. All my limbs are attached.

Then I remember, I woke up about three a.m. with horrible heart burn. Maybe this was part of that? I had taken some chewable pepto-bismol and then went back to bed. So I googled away and found this pepto page.

It says: The active ingredient in Pepto-Bismol contains bismuth. When a small amount of bismuth combines with trace amounts of sulfur in your saliva and gastrointestinal tract, a black-colored substance (bismuth sulfide) is formed. [Lovely!] This discoloration is temporary and harmless. [Unless you count my ego when everyone freaks out when I talk to them.] It can last several days after you stop taking Pepto-Bismol. [Seriously??]

Several days? Yikes. But hey, the heartburn went away...

Weird. I've never had this happen before and I have taken Pepto before (a lot, in fact, which may be another story you don't want to hear).

So there's you little warning!

Eyes on the world

2007-05-02T11:01:00.000-06:00

I've become obsessed with web cams. This comes partly from the Macintosh OSX dashboard. I have widgets that allow me to have a bunch of web cams up while I'm working away on my Windows (kind of a screen saver effect for my Mac, without the actuak screen saver process.).

Today Mount St. Helens is intermittent fog (completely fogged out right at this moment), downtown Denver is mostly sunny, the Golden Gate Bridge just disappeared under a fog bank, people are milling about in Times Square NYC, Old Faithful in Yellowstone is mostly cloudy (and actually going off here and there), and the Russian hamsters are in the dark (actually haven't caught them not in the dark yet but the time stamp keeps updating).

The Times Square is actually part of Sloth Cam, which cycles between Times Square, Las Vegas Wedding Chapel, Calhoun Factory - Canada, Abbey Road - London, Broadway - NYC, Vancouver Aquarium Beluga Whale Cam, San Diego Zoo Panda Cam, Daytona Beach, Trafalgar Square, CBC - Montreal, Del Mar Beach - CA, Venice Beach, Parliament Hill - Ontario, CBC - Toronto, Eiffel Tower, Panama Canal, and Sydney Harbor.

The downtown Denver one is from Camlorado (a collection of about two dozen cameras throughout the state). The one I tend to sit on looks west and I can watch the afternoon t-storms roll in.

I've been trying to add my Hawaii cams but they don't seem to be the correct format. Bummer.

But otherwise a fun way for desktop diversion ...

What part of No Soliciting don't you understand?

2007-04-13T14:44:00.001-06:00

I have a very clear sign on the door – "No Soliciting." It means, unless I know you or you have a package for me (from a real package company, not a package from God), then don't ring the doorbell!

I don't care who sent you or why, how nicely you are dressed or how polite you are. I don't do anything business, charity, whatever from someone I don't know who comes to my door.

Since the sign doesn't seem to work, I've thought up some other devices. I'd like a booming loudspeaker that makes me sound like the Wizard of Oz -- "WHO DARES TO RING MY DOORBELL?".

Spring brings ... silverware?

2007-04-04T14:41:00.000-06:00

I was picking my mail out of the box, walking back towards the house, admiring the flowering bulbs and other buds coming out. A glint caught my eye. Just in front of my front fence were two silver "sprouts" coming out of the ground. Okaaaaaay....

A spoon and a fork.

I don't remember planting these? Will have to check with the neighbor kids. :-)

Okay - this gets weirder. The silverware doesn't belong to the houses with kids. So none of them did it. Mark noticed them about a week ago.

I replanted them in the front garden. Who knows, maybe I'll have a bumper crop this year.

A disturbance in the force

2007-03-25T01:24:00.000-06:00

You ever feel like there's something out there on your periphery, like the way the sky gets very dark and twirly before a tornado? Granted I'm a nut, so I probably get this much more than necessary. But the clouds have been gathering.

In any case, I chatted with an old friend today and while catching up somehow the evil-ex came up in conversation. We were talking about doing game night and about the card game Phase 10. I mentioned how I learned to be cut-throat at that due to the friend, the evil-ex and his brothers.

Oh, says the friend, I am working with him now .... blah blah blah.

Whoa. Back up the boat. Put out the anchor. Hell, call the coast guard!

What do you mean, I stammer. He's in Portland, right.

Uh, he says, [evil-ex] moved back in Colorado.

Ack, I screech. You were supposed to warn me so I don't have a heart attack accidentally bumping into him at Costco or something.

I thought you knew, says friend. But don't worry. He lives in the south side of town.

Still there's a much better chance I could bump into him in the same city, then if he was still in Portland. Dammit, Colorado is my state. I was *born* here.

Yes, I have moved on. I am happily married. But quite honestly I would like to just completely forget he existed. A blip in the continuum. No it doesn't really bother me, except that it's 1:30 in the morning and I'm here complaining about it.

Argh.

You say it's your birthday?

2007-03-19T17:14:00.000-06:00

It's my birthday too!

I think I may have reached that point in my life where you start to use birthdays as mile markers -- something to re-access your life. I'm 37 (and still think I'm somewhere in my 20s). Wow, time flies!

But when I really sit back and think about it, there isn't too much I'm behind on. I'd like to have kids and that opportunity is diminishing. I did think I would have done that by now.

Other than that, the cool thing about my birthday is it's the last day of Winter. Around here Spring has been hanging about for a week or two. Lots of crocus and other bulbs are popping up. I have the urge to stick my hands in the dirt and plant stuff.

Furry Scurry time!

2007-03-13T16:48:00.000-06:00

The Flounder-Pounder pup and I will be doing our annual Furry Scurry to raise funds for the Denver Dumb Friends League. We're part of friend Pam's ManiaTV team.

Support us by donating -- here's our link.

Jetrosexual, yeah, that's me

2007-03-12T10:15:00.000-06:00

From Virgin Atlantic

(uh oh. I do have an inflatable pillow and my own blanket ...)

Goals to live by.

Obsessed? No, not me.

2007-03-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

When I get a hobby, it's not a small thing. I have to go all out. I've always been this way. As a kid, I carefully cataloged all my stamps. I set up a library system for all my books. I got my first penpal when I was 10 years old, and by high school I had 60 of them.

As an adult, I became a fan of the TV show Northern Exposure. I collected plenty of NoEx things including actual items from the show. When I did a web site tribute, I didn't just do a single page or two. I went hog wild (moose wild?).

The hubby bought me an MP3 player a couple of years ago. I heard a song I liked on Grey's Anatomy. I looked it up, downloaded it from Napster. Then I decided that ALL the music on Grey's is pretty cool so spent an afternoon downloading all the songs from seasons one and two. (I'm behind in the current season, but not for long, for sure).

Another hobby gets me off the computer and lets me be a little more creative. I make cards and things with stamps. Because I've spent so much time (and money) with it, I recently became a Stampin Up demonstrator. Although this may have made this worse. I can buy a lot more now!

One of my latest obsession is books. Part of it stemmed from dismanteling and moving my floor to ceiling bookshelves from one room to another. I started to realize how many books I have and how many I haven't read. I have to hold myself back at the 3-for-2 Borders table or at Costco. Even looking at amazon.com the other day, I had to refrain from ordering used books from my amazon wish list.

A couple of years ago, I joined Bookcrossing.com. I had heard something about it somewhere and thought, what a cool idea. You register your books and pass them on when they're read. It's a little tough to let some go (and they have a Permanent Collection section). I've released and caught several books so far. But now I've been into "controlled releases" where I'm handing off the book to someone I know will read it. The idea is that people will journal the travels of the book as they get it. You don't have to be a member to journal. I'd love to know where they go.

I've discovered a couple of companion sites to bookcrossing. The first is RABCK.com. That stands for Random Act of Bookcrossing Kindness. Basically you sign up on the site, enter a few key things (like your mailing address and book type preferences). So it's not completely random in the sense of the word, but you can search through the database, find someone who has a reading preference for a book you're releasing and send it to them in the mail.

Related to this one, another Bookcrosser set up a place for you to list your books wish list. So if you're on RABCK, someone can look at your wish list and maybe surprise send you one of those books.

Bookcrossing has many places to join up fellow readers. I've been signing up for bookrings and bookrays. Basically a ring is where you set up a group of people who want to read a particular book. The first person reads and sends it to the second, etc. until the last person who then sends it back to the first person (who started it). It's way to see your book travel and a bit more controlled (since other members are BC members, greater chance they'll journal it and pass it on).

The last related site is paperbackswap.com -- which pretty much explains itself. You get credits for uploading your list and for each book that reaches its destination. Again -- more of a controlled release because the recipient is looking for that exact title. Kind of another cool way to swap your books.

Now if I could just get obsessed with spring cleaning ...

Currently reading: "Alphabet Weekends" - Elizabeth Noble

Inconceivable!

2007-03-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

I'll take your heathen dollars!

2007-03-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

From the MIL into my email in-box:

<< Isn't that un-constitutional???FYI Subject: Do not accecept them-
U.S. Government to Release New Dollar Coins

You guessed it'IN GOD WE TRUST'IS GONE!!!
Who originally put 'In God We Trust' onto our currency?
My bet is that it was one of the Presidents on these coins.
All our U.S. Government has done is Dishonor them, and disgust me!!!
If ever there was a reason to boycott something, THIS IS IT!!!!
DO NOT ACCEPT THE NEW DOLLAR COINS AS CHANGE
Together we can force them out of circulation. Please send to all on you mail list !!! >>

Can I tell you how much I hate these emails? In any case, the amusing thing is some moron started it (and I'm not sure about those who keep passing it on). I've been trying to teach those who send me these things to do a little research first.

For example, by simply going to the US Mint's page, you can see that indeed "In God We Trust" is on the coin, around the edge, along with E Pluribus Unum. (Strangely, I didn't get the email from those freaked out by that missing.)

And further research indicates that yes, in fact about 50,000 new US dollar coins were accidentally put into circulation missing the text In God We Trust (and E Pluribus Unum). The first one went on ebay for about $600 but the rest will probably settle around $40 - $60 each (since there are many).

So yes, please send me your heathen coins. I'll take them off your hands. (And please learn spell-check!)

Dog wrangling

2007-03-05T11:29:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday night, my neighbor Bridget and I arrived home from Jazzercise to see a sweet mini collie in our cul-du-sac. It was a cold night with a colder wind. I checked his tag. His name was Max and he was about 5 miles from his home -- over several busy roads and a highway. I picked him up and put him in my husband's car then went inside to google the address. I tried calling the number several times but it went directly to voice mail.

When I came back out of the house, I noticed a second dog in the shadows, a chow mix. He wouldn't come to me but seemed a little concerned I had his buddy in the car. I went back in for some puppy biscuits to entice him. But when I came out, he had disappeared.

So as I was driving my buddy Max, the sweetest little guy, back to his house, I wondered if the address was correct. Still no one answered at the number (my guess is dial-up internet) so figured I'll do something else if I get there and that's not his address. The distance over the highway and the road seemed a bit odd for this little guy.

I got to the address and most of the lights were off but I saw a shadow behind the door window and rang the bell. A teenaged boy answered the door. I had Max in my arms. "Is this a buddy of yours?," I asked. He looked preplexed and said yes. So I set Max down. I asked if he had a second pup, a chow mix and he again said yes. I told him where I lived and that I wasn't able to catch the second one (named Rusty).

His mother came down the stairs and he didn't say anything so I said, I found your Max wandering around my neighborhood and wow, he went far. She laughed. Ends up her daughter lives in my neighborhood and had both Max and Rusty. I said, oops! Do you want me to take him back? And she laughed and said no, she'd make her come get the pup. But thanked me for bringing him home.

Bottom line - make sure your dog's tags are current. At least this was one of Max's homes. It would have been worse if the whole family had moved. I would have had no way to find his home. But I always will pick up a wayward pup -- I would hope if mine ever wandered away, someone would do the same.

Self-help books

2007-03-01T12:58:00.000-07:00

I belong to a book club. The primary purpose of this really has not been to delve deeply into books, but more of a gathering of friends once a month with the excuse of reading a book. However I usually enjoy reading said book and the bit of discussion we do have about it. However, sometimes we venture into the non-fiction world. March's pick is a self-help book.

Uhg.

I hate self-help books -- except the ones that I buy specifically for me and my problems/issues/questions. For example: I suffer from PCOS (and the inability to get pregnant) so I have recently added a couple of PCOS treatment/diet books to help me treat this and all its underlying issues. But this is a specific need for my own self. I wouldn't pick it for a group of people to read and discuss. I wouldn't assume that this applies to everyone else.

Our book club's March's selection is a bit broader -- "Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don't Want". But again, what if I am not looking for this? I guess I don't believe a book, especially a 142 page paperback, is going to change my life: make me skinnier, wealthier, healthier and pregnant. I believe that while life is a journey, it's also a job. Just by believing something (or sending out positive energy) is not going to make it happen. You also have to take steps to make what you want happen. I have to eat right to be better fit. I have to treat my disorder to be healthier. I have to exercise for both. I have to work to earn money and be wise about how I spend it, in order to be better off financially.

I know that even with hard work -- life happens. Shit happens. Bliss happens. Whether that is luck, serendipity or simply laws of the universe, it's going to happen no matter what. This is why these books drive me bonkers.

The friend who has picked it is looking for enlightenment. She is sincere in sharing this. So this I'll accept. I'll begrudingly give her book a chance, and longingly look at the huge stack of fiction and chick-lit waiting for me to read. I guess I get enough real life every day. I like to read fiction. It's an escape from your life, not a dissection.

The original book picked was "The Secret." But I have figured out what the secret is: it's how to get you to spend money for possible enlightenment (more of "lighten the wallet"). The book ($23.95) is a companion piece to the movie DVD ($29.95) and I am sure there are t-shirts, coasters, mugs and more.

Both the Secret and Law of Attraction are non-fiction bestsellers. Perhaps this is a trend that Americans are searching for something more. Seems like we could actually do well with less: less on our schedules, less food, less objects for our lives and our homes. Why are people always looking for how to be happy with their lives? Why not just try it? Just enjoy what you have. Work for what you want. Be in the moment. Just knock it off and be happy, dammit!

Hey – I think I have a new bestselling self-help book there. I'll call Oprah.

That's all she wrote...

2007-02-22T23:55:00.000-07:00

By far the best TV program ever was Northern Exposure. It can never be repeated. However, there are TV shows out there that are well-written and amusing to watch none-the-less. One of those was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. You didn't see it? Well, then it's your fault. It was fantastic -- funny and intellectual at the same time (which may have been its downfall). My husband said it was too smart.

This past monday night's episode was the last one. There's still six unaired episodes that I hope NBC will decide to air at some point.

Snow close!

2007-02-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

Two days short! Denver was on tap to beat the record for the longest time having an average of 1 inch of snow on the ground for consecutive days. The official measuring site is near the former Stapleton airport. But Spring is on its way and we've had fantastically warm weather. So where they came up with 2 inches average on Tuesday, it didn't hold through Wednesday.

The record for the most was 63 days between November 1983 and January 1984. We did beat number 2, which was set in 1913. We made 61 days.

This is just some of the snow cover still remaining in my yard (a couple of feet in the middle of that mound). More snow in the forecast Friday night.

But March and April are traditionally the snowiest months here so we're not done yet...

Meltdown
61 consecutive days of continuous snow cover recorded in Denver, ending Tuesday.
2 is this season's ranking for consecutive days of continuous snow cover in Denver.
21 inches is the deepest snow measured this winter, on Dec. 21 and 22.
64.6 inches is the total snowfall so far this winter.
70 percent of the ground is bare at the official measuring site, leading to the end of the snow-cover streak.

Source: Numbers Are From Thenational Weather Service's Stapleton Airport Site Where Some Official Measurements - Including Snow Depth - Are Taken.

A MIL vent

2007-02-20T22:48:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I really should be more patient. If it weren't for this woman, my husband would not have been born. And for that I
am thankful.

However.

I may have mentioned before that in May 2005, my mother-in-law decided she'd rather live in San Jose, then Denver. So she put her condo up for sale, packed what fit in her Camry, quit her job and left. The hubby and I, well, mostly the "I" part, packed up everything else, sold the furniture, sorted and donated, etc the rest of the place.

In July, the bank seized the place, changed the locks and had we not emptied it already, would have thrown everything to the curb. That was a brief misunderstanding and she regained the ownership. However almost two years later, the condo is still on the market. Twice contracts have been placed and then the buyers walking away. It's a nice place, the kitchen a little dated. But it includes all the appliances, including a brand-new glass-top stove. The market is just not good right now. There's too many of the same for less. She's now asking about $15k under what she paid.

This part of this whole thing rubs me the wrong way because it's just not what I would do. I've always been a very practical person. I line up a job before quitting another. I would sell a place before just packing and moving. I know not everyone should be like me. But she has a long history of "flying by the seat of her pants." She's getting older, has nothing to her name and I worry how we're all going to take care of her later. (I should mention she blew what retirement she had on a trip to Ireland when she was unemployed). This is hard for me. I would love to be more this way but am just too darn responsible. I also believe she suffers from manic-depression but it is untreated.

Which brings me to present day. She blew through town this past weekend, arriving on Saturday and leaving early Monday. We tried to get her to pin down plans to see her but was only able to plan dinner at a local restaurant (Bloom) that is a favorite (although quite pricey). She ended up bringing two friends to this dinner and spent more time catching up with them then with us. We also arrived a little late (totally my fault -- was painting the bathroom and wanted to finish up the paint I had out so it wouldn't dry up). But in those few minutes, she and the two friends had ordered several appetizers. (Did I mention this was an expensive
restaurant?). I figured that they decided that they would just eat that. But no. Entrees, several glasses of wine and dessert too. Ack. She insisted on paying the tab but then seemed surprised. We at least got the tip covered. Initially we had thought we would take her (just her) out to dinner but never got the chance to mention it. There's no way we could afford to cover her and the two friends too. Not sure how she could afford it?

At the end of dinner, as we were leaving, she mentioned oh by the way, she needed a ride to the airport on Monday. I replied, well we are both working, what time do you need to be there. She had assumed we were off for president's day. Ends up her flight was at 8:30 am. I squeeked out, 8:30 IN THE MORNING??! (Meaning she had to be picked up at her hotel at 6am). Seriously??! Luckily the hubby could get up a little earlier to take her before work (never mind that the airport is very much out of the way from downtown but whatever).

We had mentioned all the things we've been doing to the house (remodels etc) so she said she would come by on Sunday. Late afternoon she called to say she was coming by. I was putting the finishing touches on painting the new "beach" bathroom. I heard the pups bark and came upstairs. She was standing outside and I walked out in time to see her get back into her friend's car and leave. I asked my hubby what was up. She had run to the hardware store to buy a couple of things for her condo and wanted Mark to hang on to them. She didn't want to leave them in the condo (which is empty and has lots of closet space). After a "discussion," he agreed with me that we do not have the room for anything else of hers. We've spent the last almost two years trying to get rid of her stuff.

Ironically one of the items is a kitchen sink. So that tops it, we had everything of hers, even the kitchen sink!! Later that evening we dropped off the sink, a ceiling fan and some light fixtures to the condo for a handyman to replace. She didn't ask if we could help, she just dropped the things off and quickly, before I would see because she knows that my voice of reason is directly in conflict with her geocentric orbit. I think she fully expected Mark to keep these things in the trunk of his car until the handyman called for them.

She didn't even come in the house. We had cleaned and were excited to show off our projects. I also was hoping to show her that yes, we are really doing stuff and that we really are very busy people. I guess my voice of reason (rather, my thought of reason) was hoping she could understand why we did not have the time to show the condo to possible renters (because I work at home and could just run over there ...) and spend time upgrading it. We have no ownership in that place but we do own our house, along with the yard needs a lot of work. Not to mention all the sorting, shipping and general getting rid of all this extra crap we have now. And that we'd actually like to take time off and do something fun once in awhile.

I know I sound coldhearted. But it's the kid who cried wolf here. We bent over backwards helping her clean out the condo and get it ready for the market -- without her here. I never got a thank you or anything. It's always something. It's a bit like enabling someone with an addiction. Of course, you would do anything for your mother but when she does the things she does without regards to the consequences, you have to put your foot down! Sure, we'll love you and support you the best we can but we need the same back.

I warned you. If you read this far, thank you for reading my rant. I needed to vent so that I quit harassing my poor hubby about it. He's the good cop. I'm the bad cop. The only frightening thing was a brief mention that she misses Colorado and has thought about returning. Ack! We've been happy that his sister has had to keep an eye on her for awhile but I'm sure she is ready to send her back. Please someone, buy this damn condo ...

I hade bein thick!

2007-02-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

My immune system got a little overwhelmed by the dust of redoing my bathroom floor (ripped out vinyl linoleum and put in some cool tile), as well as the couple of days of toxic inversion (pollution that gets stuck in warmer weather up against the mountains with cold air on the top). So now I have snot head. And I sound like Barry White. With Tuberculosis.

But I got some really good prescription cough medicine that at least lets me breath (blue is so not my color) but makes me a bit loopy.

A woof out to Westminster champion James! Ends up the hubby had a last minute trip last weekend to New York and stayed right by Madison Square Garden. He was wondering why there were so many beautiful dogs at his hotel. I tried to find a last minute ticket to join him but no luck -- probably better since I am thick...

But that would have been really cool to see Westminster. I once worked for a local company that does show dog magazines (did layout and design). I got to travel to several dog shows around the country -- the first was the Poodle Nationals in Maryland. You've seen "Best in Show"? Yeah, those people are real! What a hoot. I did get to meet Anne Rogers Clark though -- who was mentioned last night on the Westminster show. I didn't realize she had passed away in December. She was pretty big in the dog show world.

But I never got to go to the "superbowl" of the dog shows! That would have been fun. Well it was fun to watch on high-definition TV with my echinachea tea, puffs plus tissues and cough drops. Happy, happy dogs! Happy, happy me! (more cough medicine, whoo hoo)

Dixie Chicks ROCK!

2007-02-12T15:43:00.000-07:00

Five Grammy awards pretty much sums it up. Freedom of speech is alive and well.

Here Groundhog, Groundhog

2007-02-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

Apparently P. Phil did not see his shadow so Spring is coming. This comes to a very sunny but snow-covered day at a balmy -2 (with "brutal windchill," according to the weather guys).

Yeah - think Phil might be wrong for my neck of the woods. But dreaming of seeing the ground underneath the snow. Or better yet, a sunny beach vacation.

Albuquerque Weekend

2007-01-30T13:10:00.000-07:00

I headed south this past weekend for a quick visit to Albuquerque. My youngest sister lives there. I also attended a Stampin Up Regional Convention, to learn, stamp, and meet some other SU folks.

I stayed with my sister and was thoroughly licked from head to toe by Duke who has grown to a long-legged, gangly horse! He likes to lick and has a tongue like a lizard. Mollie is very happy to have an energetic buddy.

Friday night, Sara and Aaron took me to O'Neill's Pub on Central for dinner. It was burgers and sandwiches but pretty good. I had a BLT. Albuquerque still has smoking in some restaurants and this was one. It's amazing after Denver went smoke-free how I've lost any immunity to it.

Saturday, after a graburrito at the Flying Star Cafe (also on Central), I headed to the convention center. The event was very informative and fun. I got many new ideas. Afterwards, I headed back to the house where Aaron made his award-winning tortelloni and a spinach-pear salad. We spent the evening in and watched Thank You For Smoking. The movie was really funny (but I think Aaron was disappointed you couldn't see Katie's boobs).

Sunday, Sara had a baby shower to attend, so we all headed to Einstein's Bagels for a quick breakfast. Aaron and I headed to the furniture auction. I've been wanting to get some new (old) stuff for my house and the auction has some great finds. I found a couple of Mission style bookshelves and cabinets, but was overly outbid for what I wanted (they overpaid). I did find a large wooden cat that stands about 3 feet tall, and another of three wooden cats (see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil) that stands about a foot tall.

After the auction, we headed back to Nob Hill to meet Sara and do some shopping. We had lunch at Il Vicino. I had a very yummy Tacchino Paladine (like a crispy flatbread panini). I bought some coconut masks at Masks y Mas, a silk purse at Peacecraft, some blue topaz earrings at Ooh Ahh, and some fun trinkets at Beeps. For dinner we headed to Thai Orchid. I had the Green Curry Shrimp (which was good but not as good as my Tuk Tuk back home). Then back to the house for an early evening after a busy weekend. Sara dropped me back at the airport early Monday am and it was back to reality.

The weather was warm and the best thing: there was no snow anywhere! It was nice to walk without slipping on ice. The cats were too heavy to bring back on the plane so will plan to drive back down later to retrieve them and hopefully get back to the auction for some wins!

Dream job

2007-01-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

I think ideally everyone's dream job would be making money on something that you wouldn't define as a job or have to work hard. I often thought my dream would be a large plot of land and lots of pups and kits. I saw a story about a ranch in Montana, Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary, that gives a dream home to animals with disabilities, who would otherwise be put down. I think this would be a dream job. These animals have a lot of life and excitement in them and a lot of love. Although I think it would be tough to have that many animals, as their lifespan is so short. But then again, watching the doggie smiles and hearing the kitties purring, you know it would be worth it.

If I were ever to come into a lot of money, I would set something up like this myself. In the meantime, I will support the Rolling Dog however way I can! Kudos to them.

15 places I would like to visit

2007-01-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite magazines (Real Simple), suggested some alternative New Year's resolution type lists. One was to make a list of 15 places you would like to visit.

So here are mine:

Egypt (pyramids, sphynx, Nile)
Australia
New Zealand
Jordan (specifically the cliff carvings from Indian Jones)
Glacier National Park, Montana
Moab and Arches National Park, Utah
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Paris
Aruba
Coastal Mexico (Cabo San Lucas, Cozumel, Isle Mujeres, Tulum)
Molokai, Hawaii
Belize
Brazil
Croatia
The Florida Keys

The secret life of books

2007-01-21T10:50:00.001-07:00

I've been slowly moving a large bookshelf from my old office to my new office. Along with that, I've been I've been rediscovering old favorite books, books I haven't read, and college textbooks I wonder why I still have.

My old favorites include those in my blog profile, such as the classic To Kill A Mockingbird. I actually have two copies of that – a very worn, missing cover one from my original reading at Cache La Poudre Junior High School. It was so worn, it was destined for the waste basket. I asked the librarian (was it Mrs. Neth?) to let me keep it. A few years ago, I thought I should buy a new copy of it for my collection and pass on the old one. Yet when I went to register and release it, I found I couldn't part with the worn one. Its well-loved condition would probably not be as revered as it is in my bookshelf. So it stays.

Every book has a story behind it. Desert Solitaire (Edward Abbey) was recommended by someone once, probably a guy I had a crush on (though who it was, I don't recall now). It really appealed to my tree-hugging side. I have yet to visit the places in the book (Moab and Arches) but it's on my list. (Another blog around the corner).

Marley and Me (John Grogan) was a gift from my sister Annie for my birthday. Its the true story of "life and love with the world's worst dog." As a human to two of the world's worst (but getting better) dogs, I laughed and cried my way through this book. This one shows how dog lovers can truly appreciate their pups, in spite of and in love with all they do.

I have a couple of signed books. One of my most favorite authors is Maya Angelou. I've been lucky to see her speak several times. One of those times even luckier to meet her. She signed my copy of Even the Stars Look Lonesome. More recently, I've become enamoured with Sue Monk Kidd's books, especially The Secret Life of Bees. This past Fall, a fellow GABster (bookclub) and I heard her speak and she signed my copy of Bees.

Now as I put all these books back in my shelves, I realize I'm not only a packrat but a bookaholic. I'm addicted to the 3-for-2 at Borders and the clearance tables there and at Barnes and Nobel, and used books on Amazon.com. I'm very protective of my books too. As a kid, I used to play librarian forcing my sister, parents and anyone else who ventured by to check out books. Recently I've discovered Bookcrossing. It's a place online to register your books with a unique number and then "release them into the wild." The idea is the finder writes a journal entry about their find, reads it and passes it on, with the website as a virtual travel journal for the book.

But moving the books has also given me a chance to edit. Do I really need all my women's studies books from college? The Journalism textbooks? No, probably not. If I edit, then there's more room on the shelf for the new books.

Currently reading: Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen

Ladies do tea

2007-01-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

The book club gang met at the Brown Palace a couple of weeks ago for afternoon tea. We read Murder at the Brown Palace, which wasn't as exciting as I hoped (the story is interesting but the book was backwards -- telling the best part first). The tea was very fantastic. It was fun to dress up and have cucumber sandwiches and lots of sugary treats.

Afterwards, Pam, Nichelle and I wandered into the Ship Tavern to check out the bullet holes in the bar.

I need to write up a life list. I don't have one really, but it I did, tea at the Brown Palace would be something to cross off.

Earworms

2007-01-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

You know how you get a tune stuck in your head? It's called an earworm and unfortunately it's never the whole song, just an annoying snippit over and over and over and ...

This happens to me all the time. I always wake up with a song in my head. This is odd because I don't wake to an alarm clock. As a freelancer, I have the ability to wake up when my body tells me so. So it's not a song I catch from the clock radio jarring me out of slumberland. Sometimes I can figure out where it comes from -- sometimes I think it's an old tooth filling picking up random radio stations.

Today it's "Paperback Writer." Just that part. "Paperback Writer" over and over. But then my mind likes to change it up a bit -- usually something to the dogs or cats. So now it becomes "Puppydog barker".

Argh.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit.

Happy New Year! Why is it that we start each year with resolutions? Apparently the tradition of resolutions dates back to the early Babylonians. Today most popular resolutions are to quit smoking, lose weight, get out of debt, spend more time with family, and get organized. The most popular resolution for the early Babylonians was to return borrowed farm equipment.

So here it is January 1st once again, and I wonder what the heck happened to the last January 1st. Each one brings the realization of the passage of time, and the fact we're all a bunch of procrastinators. How many people can look back at last year's resolutions and say that they were successful?

But tradition for tradition's sake, here goes:

1. Visit at least one new national park.
2. Get my health under control (this seems to be an ongoing thing given I have this blasted PCOS that waxes and wains. I am too young for this!)
3. Put a stamp on my Passport. (See I got one from last year.)
4. work less
5. Organize and edit (I can't believe it's even worse since I decided to remodel and move my home office).
6. I am having a blank on the rest – but will add more as I think of some.

Here's to the first day of the rest of the year!

Dreaming of a white Christmas

2006-12-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

Wrapping up gifts, trudging over snowbanks to bring neighbors cookies, playing Christmas CDs, making banana bread ... and now it has started to snow -- big, fat, magical flakes. The kind you always dream of for a perfect white Christmas.

Yes, we still have feet (yes, feet!) of snow all over the city but Mother Nature decided to overdeliver for Christmas 2006. Tucked away in our warm house with all our furry ones, we're settling down for a long winter's night.

There's a certain magic to Christmas Eve -- best summed up from a scene out of my favorite TV show, Northern Exposure.

"It's an old legend, that on Christmas Eve at midnight, all the animals fall on their knees and speak -- praising the new born Jesus.

(pausing to reflect)

Back in the winter of '68, my Dad was doing a short term for D and D. Mom was -- I'm not sure where Mom was. Anyway, I was home alone on Christmas Eve and I stayed up late to see if my dog, Buster, would talk. He did -- at least I think he did. I don't remember Buster's exact words, but that's not important. What matters is that a seven-year-old boy experienced his own personal epiphany.

My point? It's that Christmas reveals itself to each of us in a personal way -- be it secular or sacred. Whatever Christmas is -- and it's many things to many people -- we all own a piece of it. Kinda like Santa's bag, inside there's gift for everyone.
My Christmas wish for you tonight -- may your dog talk"

Chris-in-the-Morning from 3.10 Seoul Mates (also reading from the Friendly Beasts)

So echoing that sentiment, may you have a Merry Christmas, may your dog talk and may your cat only bite the Christmas tree bulbs when the power is off.

... and world peace

2006-12-22T16:26:00.000-07:00

The Event
WHO? All Men and Women, you and everyone you know.
WHERE? Everywhere in the world, but especially in countries with weapons of mass destruction.
WHEN? Winter Solstice Day - Friday, December 22nd, at the time of your choosing, in the place of your choosing and with as much privacy as you choose.
WHY? To effect positive change in the energy field of the Earth through input of the largest possible surge of human energy a Synchronized Global Orgasm. There are two more US fleets heading for the Persian Gulf with anti-submarine equipment that can only be for use against Iran, so the time to change Earth’s energy is NOW!

... a whole different approach to whirled peas ... I mean world peace. Peace man!

Karma

2006-12-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

My younger sister went to my grandma's several weeks ago and Gram was sitting with her travel agent. "Guess what," she told A., "I'm taking the kids to Mexico for Christmas." Nice. The kids are her two daughters, but not my dad, who is also a kid, plus my cousin. Nuttin' for the rest of us. She abandoned us for Thanksgiving too. Beginning to wonder if she's just mad at all of us for some reason.

Anyway ends up their flight was supposed to be out of Denver to Mexico yesterday morning.

Karma.

BIG Bon Hiver

2006-12-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it ... okay... you can stop now!! The first day of Winter arrived with 36 inches of snow at my house. It started yesterday morning and the storm just stopped and churned over the front range. The hubby had to go into work yesterday morning but smartly took the bus. He arrived back home about 1:30pm, just before the highway was shut down due to stuck semis, too many stuck cars and too much snow. The neighbor brought out his ATV with snowplow and helped Mark get back into the driveway. The first moose photo is 5pm Weds Dec. 20 and the second is 9am Thurs Dec. 21.

We just signed up for digital cable so have plenty to do until we can get back out of the house!

Definitely a white Christmas -- this isn't going to melt anytime soon.

Happy holidays from Grumpy Mc Mini

2006-12-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

My Elf Name Is... Grumpy Mc Mini
What's Your Elf Name?

http://www.blogthings.com/elfnamegenerator/

It's your B-woof-day!

2006-12-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

On December 6, Princess Flounder turned nine years old. I've been her human for all but the first seven weeks of her life. She's a purebred black Labrador Retriever with white toes (her yellow lab grandparents) and now a white muzzle in her older age. Favorite pasttimes include chasing squirrels, disemboweling tennis balls, napping and riding in the car. She and I have done the Furry Scurry, an annual charity walk for the Denver Dumb Friends League, almost every year since 1997. She's 100 lbs thanks to her 120 lb father (her mother, Princess, was a dainty 60 lbs). She grumbles and snorts and tends to get us up before the sun. She can also clear a room with her "vapors". But she is the best black lab in the world and we love every moment with her.

Happy b-woof-day Flounder- Pounder!

Kauai – No Kai Oi

2006-11-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

The hubby and I snuck off for a week in Kauai the end of September. It was our first time to the most northern inhabited island in the Hawaiian island chain. Kauai is the oldest of the island, which makes it geographically the most interesting. It most looks like an island in the south Pacific.

We stayed at the Outrigger Kiahuna Plantation in sunny Poipu on the south side of the island. We did a package deal through United Vacations that includes air, car and 7 nights lodging. Normally we find package deals are the best (although the last two times we've gotten gipped on the car – basically you have to turn it in at the same time of day you picked it up or they charge you a “day rate” that is almost as much as what we normally pay for a week!). The Outrigger was nice. However the first "package" room we stayed in was right on the end of the property by a busy road (that also was under construction). So you want to be sure you book a higher level that “Garden View” when you book there. We were able to switch after two nights to a much quieter condo that was away from the road.

The property is all condos – which we love because of the room and the kitchen (not that we always cook but it’s nice to have the space). It has gorgeous gardens including a massive orchid garden. It's also right on the Kiahuna beach. It's a nice swimming beach (most of the time, read more about that below). It's also across the street from several restaurants and shops – including our favorite Hawaiian eatery Roy’s and my favorite jeweler Na Hoku.

One of the first days we jumped into the water off our beach to find a salt water washing machine. The remnants of an Asian typhoon were causing some crazier than normal waves. Luckily around a point there was a protected reef next to the property and with a shaved ice shop near by. Bonus!

The gorgeous landscape of this island makes a helicopter ride mandatory. Helicopters and I don't really jive but an hour ride was doable and misery was overridden by the sights. My photos were odd as I didn't want to move my head to shoot out the side window, so I just shot without looking. We took Air Kauai's tour around the island.

Kauai includes the Waimea Canyon, a multicolored rift on the north west side of the island, the Na Pali cliffs just beyond the canyon, and Mt. Wai’ale’ale, the second wettest place on the Earth. Many movies have been filmed on the island – including Jurassic Park.

Our main goal was rest and relaxation, but we also spent time exploring the island. I love the "revealed" books and hauled around The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed (Ultimate Kauai Guidebook).

Because of that book, we found a lot of spots we wouldn’t have normally found —like the glass beach. It’s a beach in an industrial area in front of a couple of large fuel tanks. It's the site of a former dump. The beach is covered with glass that has been sanded down by the water into multicolored stones. The dump has been slowly reclaimed by the sea and has developed some interesting cliffs —a mixture of lava stone and rusted car parts. Strange how trash can look interesting and how nature can make it better. Just above the beach is a red dirt 60-year-old Chinese cemetery (there’s a weird irony of a cemetery and a dump sharing ground).

There’s also a place nicknamed Kaboom Mountain – due to a military stash of ammo stuffed through out caves in a cliff. You get the picture.

Just recently caught up with an old coworker who was lucky enough to live in Kauai for six months this past year. I think that would be fantastic. One week is just not enough!

Some favorite photos are posted on my Flickr page. My favorite is of Kalalau Valley - the one at the top of this post. The colors are incredible. It was even better beyond the camera.

Now off to dream of the next trip …

Lying was the worse sin

2006-11-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

The first commandment should be “think before you act.” It amazes me how many times, a prominent person is caught in something they shouldn’t have been doing. The latest to fall is the Rev. Ted Haggard, who after days of denying the rumors, admitted first he did buy Meth and then that he committed "sexual immorality."

Obviously he should never have considered doing these things in the first place, given the “moral requirements" of his position in the church, and the words he was preaching. But we are all human and we all make mistakes (the drugs and the cheating, not the fact that it was a gay relationship).

The most grievous error was that he denied the charges. He lied. One could argue that he was trying to protect his family or his church congregation. But in the end, he was really only looking out for himself.

My bookclub recently discussed religion and schools. One general consensus was that while it wasn't necessary to push the Christian religion in school (or any one religion), it was important to teach the underlying values and morals. This teaching seems to be missing in everyday life, no matter what you believe.

This further complicates the Haggard case, as he was a high-ranking person in his church. His job is guidance and teaching. He is supposed to be a role model. By lying about what he did, he showed that it is more important to save your own butt, rather than be honest.

I have to question why he was in his church position in the first place. Clearly, Haggard was not living the life he would should. Did he decide to hide his real self merely for power?

It also makes one wonder about these mega churches -- more and more I read about corruption and other very non-Christian activities. It’s all about the power, not the word.

Now we can only hope that this shows people not to lie and cheat. Forgiveness is a big thing. But so is learning from the mistakes of others.

When honesty is stupid

2006-11-04T15:08:00.000-07:00

I've been remodeling around the house, currently focusing on moving my office from a dark, cramped room to a larger, sunnier room. Along the way, I bought a computer cart from Target on sale. A couple of weeks ago, I decided I wouldn't need the cart in the new space. I hunted down the receipt and took it back along with some other items to return.

Ends up the receipt expired about two weeks ago (about the time I decided I didn't need it). The item is still in stock but with an expired receipt, it's the same as no receipt. So the only thing they could do is to let me exchange it for an item the same price or higher. It had to be one item and out of the same department.

So I hunted through domestics to find an item I needed/wanted that was $32 or more. I came upon an entry way shoe bench for $39.99. So here's the stupid part. They considered my exchange "no receipt" but I pointed out that I had purchased the cart on sale for $32. The original price was $39.99. So I paid the difference between the sale price for the cart and the new price for the bench. Had I kept my honest but stupid mouth shut, it would have been a straight across exchange.

Sigh. So for that honesty, Karma, please keep me in mind!!

and now, here's Duke Gary Winston!

2006-10-21T15:09:00.000-06:00

My second newest nephew arrived on September 9. I wrote in a previous blog that my youngest sister lost her dog, Gunner, to cancer in August. She and her husband were looking for another German Shorthair but this time a younger pup. She had been scouring Petfinder.com and found a 5 month old at the Denver Municipal Animal Shelter. Since they live in Albuquerque, she emailed me Friday afternoon to go check him out. I wrote back, "you realize I won't leave the shelter without him, are you ready for a puppy?" She said, check him out and call me.

So Saturday morning, September 9, we drove down to the shelter. I made Mark walk in first and find the dog from the tags on the front of the cages then I walked in with my eyes shielded so I wouldn't look at anyone else. Shelters are good to help adopt out pups but I hate them at the same time. I want to take everyone home.

A volunteer came over to ask if we’d like to take him into the bonding room, and we did. I called Sara on the phone as the pup licked me from head to toe. He is a gorgeous chocolate brown with the white and black spots on his underside. His disposition was fantastic – a lot of energy but normal for a pup. He was about half the size he'll be as an adult. I knew immediately he was my new nephew. Over the phone, Aaron asked if he looked like a "Gary," I replied "no, he looks like a Winston."

We went back to the front desk to make arrangements only to find out he had to be fixed first before he could be released to us. This was a minor issue - I really wanted to get him out of the shelter and at the same time, that weekend was more convenient for Sara and Aaron to get him. As I discussed it on the phone with Sara, a volunteer mentioned that because he had a cough I detected earlier, he might be able to be released without being neutered first.

The woman at the front desk was the biggest … well you add your choice of words there. She was not willing to bend at all. So we asked to chat with the vet. She snapped that he wasn’t in until later that afternoon. Fine, we said, we'll call. She threatened that if someone else looked at the pup and wanted him, then we'd lose him. I said, nope we're taking him no matter what and put down the $35 adoption fee with a receipt.

Drove back home and waited until 2:30. Getting through to the shelter is a challenge since it goes through the city of Denver system. Several times no one answered, I was put on hold and then disconnected -- only to find out the vet wasn't in yet. Finally after being very persistent (I am sure Ms. You Know What was responsible for disconnecting me several times), I was able to chat with the vet. He had examined the pup and decided that the pup should be immediately removed from the shelter and told us he would release him to us that day.

So we called Sara and Aaron, who were waiting by the phone to jump in their car (as they could not wait to get him, plus wanted to go up to see new baby Ezra). We jumped in our car and headed back down to the shelter.

We walked in the door, and Ms. YKW looked at us and started yelling at the other girl, “did he tell you anything? He didn’t tell me anything” and buzzed the vet. Her feathers were very ruffled that we had succeeded in doing what we wanted and not what she wanted. The vet came up and handed her a sheet of paper, "here's the release notes." She snapped back, "I don't type." The other girl quietly took the form. We signed it stating that we would have him fixed by October 9, slipped a harness on him and took him out the door.

He was hesitant at first to get in the car —probably since the last trip brought him to the awful shelter. We didn’t know what happened to him before.–The Denver Municipal Shelter doesn't get details like the Dumb Friends League, unless he bit someone. All they could tell us was that his previous owner gave him up. We knew from his demeanor that he had not been abused but for whatever reason, the previous owner couldn't keep him. Maybe he required too much space and lived in an apartment. Maybe he was too much of a puppy. Maybe the owner had to move.

He slept with his head on my lap most of the way home – he had been given drugs for the kennel cough which made him drowsy. Once home, he was very excited to see everything. We kept him gated in the kitchen and the girls in the living room because of the cough -- even though they're vaccinated, I wasn't sure what kind of cough it was. He was curious about everything and was really funny when Toby the cat came up to greet him -- apparently the first time he'd met a cat. He is smart and learned the stairs quickly -- something he should teach his cousin Sarah-Dog, who after six years in my house is still very afraid of the stairs.

We had him for about 7 hours before Sara and Aaron arrived from Albuquerque. We fell in love with him and were tempted to turn out all the lights and pretend we weren't home. But I know Sara and Aaron are dog people like me and had a big hole in their hearts to fill. Their other pup Mollie (an English Pointer) was lonely and missing her buddy. When they arrived they were still wondering what to call him. It took a few days for them to decide on a name so I called him Duke Gary Winston a combo of the ideas. They decided on Duke. His cough was gone in a couple of days and a week later, he was “tutored.” (Thank you Gary Larson.)
Duke, you will live a spoiled long life!

Welcome to the world Ezra!

2006-10-21T15:05:00.000-06:00

In September, I got two new nephews in my life. The first is 5 lb, 2 oz Ezra Paul who arrived a little early but very healthy on September 6. He’s a very mellow and happy baby. My sister had gone in to the hospital the night before with the feeling that something wasn't quite right. They checked things out, found nothing too out of the ordinary but the doc decided to keep her overnight on a monitor. The next morning, she went into labor and an hour into it, they performed an emergency cesarean. Every time Trina had a contraction, Ezra's heartbeat would drop. Ends up the poor little guy had a short umbilical cord. He would have been in trouble had she gone into labor at home. Chalk one up for mother's intuition!

Bon Hiver!

2006-10-17T12:33:00.000-06:00

The first snow is falling in my neck of the woods.

Oh! The snow, the beautiful snow,
Filling the sky and the earth below,
Over the housetops, over the street,
Over the heads of people you meet.
Dancing,
Flirting,
Skimming along,

Beautiful snow! It can do no wrong;
Flying to kiss a fair lady's cheek,
Clinging to lips in frolicksome freak;
Beautiful snow from heaven above,
Pure as an angel, gentle as love!

Oh, the snow, the beautiful snow,
How the flakes gather and laugh as they go
Whirling about in maddening fun:
Chasing,
Laughing,
Hurrying by.

It lights on the face and it sparkles the eye;
And the dogs with a bark and a bound
Snap at the crystals as they eddy around;
The town is alive, and its heart is aglow,
To welcome the coming of beautiful snow.
(-possibly J.W. Watson)

Pacific Northwest Dreaming

2006-10-16T18:44:00.001-06:00

The end of July I did a whirlwind tour of Western Washington state. It’s an annual event for me to visit my W-Dad in Olympia and then meet up with fellow mooseheads in Roslyn. This year I added a couple of other stops.

I arrived at Sea-Tac for some record high temperatures (100+). They even had the highest overnight low temperature while I was there. This is a part of the country not used to high temperatures like that, and needless to say, most are without air-conditioning. My nephew, Nigel was already at my W-Dad's house. He kept trying to put the "air-conditioning" on, which was simple the furnace fan to draw in the cool night air. Only he was trying it during the day while the temps were high.

The first weekend, we went to the Lacey flea market where my Dad’s wife sells potpourri (grown in their yards) and potted plants, and then on to the Lakefair booths. I bought a beautiful necklace and earrings set from a Seattle glass artist. To beat the heat, we took the pups to frolic in Kennedy Creek.

As it finally started to cool down in Olympia, we headed to the north central part of the state to the Bavarian town of Leavenworth. It's a interesting town, even the local McDonalds and Safeway market buildings follow the Bavarian architecture style. All the shops on the main drag are full of flavored taffy, souvenirs, and cuckoo clocks. They all have speakers pumping out Oompah music as you go. The first afternoon we arrived, we wandered among the shops (although the weather was still more than 100 degrees F). So after a little while, headed back to the condo resort for the pool.

The following day, my Dad drove me about an hour south to Roslyn, WA where I met up with my "moose buddies" (fellow Northern Exposure fans). We had a blast as always hanging out at the Brick, seeing Pirates of the Caribbean in the old movie theatre (which used to be a morgue in the coal mining days), to visiting filming sites from the show. "what a time we had ... Splashed through bogs, ate like hogs, slept like logs." I stayed in my favorite B&B, the Huckleberry House Inn in Roslyn.

After the moosefest weekend, a couple of friends and I headed for the Emerald City of Seattle for a whirlwind tour. Since I did the same whirlwind through Seattle last October, I was tour guide. We dropped off our other buddies and the car at Sea-Tac airport and took the Grayline into the city. Our rooms for the night were at the historic Roosevelt Hotel, within walking distance of several things and a nice view from my room of the bay. After we checked in, we were off to Pioneer Square for the Underground Tour. There were a lot more people there in the summer than in the Fall but it was still a lot of fun. The tour guides have a lot of fun with it. After the history of Seattle, we headed for lunch to the same little Mediterranean Mix place I ate at last October. Hey – it was good!

With our bellies filled, we went on a mission to a specific shoe store Jennifer wanted to see. Along the way, we stopped into a native Pacific Northwest gallery filled with many neat things. Unfortunately we arrived at the address of Ped Shoes to find it had closed for good at 6pm the day before! Argh! But we continued on our way to the Pike Place Market for some cinnamon almonds and to watch the end of the day with the fish-tossers. As the shops closed down, we headed down the many, many steps to the waterfront so Jennifer could see the creepy things at Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, as well as go pirate-wild at Pirates Plunder.

Jennifer was starting to load up with bags and even with Marie and I helping out, decided to take a taxi to the Seattle Center and the needle. This ended up being a good idea since my other option was to walk six blocks up hill to the monorail and unbeknownst to me at the time, the monorail was still closed after a crash last Fall.

We went up the Seattle needle, rested our feet, chatted and watched the sun go down over the city. We caught a taxi back down to the Roosevelt and had a late, late dinner at the hotel restaurant.

The next day, I didn’t have a flight until 8pm but Marie and Jennifer’s were early. Marie was really early and was up before us. I decided to ride in with Jennifer and see about standby on an earlier flight. Jennifer was going through Denver on her way to Boston. I ended up getting on her flight. She wasn't able to get her seat until checking in that day. As we sat there waiting, she complained that she was shoved in the back -- row 34. I looked at her ticket, we were on United and she had a economy plus. I was in row 36 -- an exit row. What the ... what kind of plane has economy plus that far back and an exit at row 36. Ended up we were on a 777 overwater -- normally reserved for Seattle - Tokyo flights. It was brand new and the biggest plane I've flown on so far.

After that whirlwind trip, I was ready for a nap!

Catching up

2006-10-16T18:44:00.000-06:00

I've got several over due blogs to post. I'll pop them up as soon as I can.

Hazardous materials

2006-10-12T17:16:00.000-06:00

I mailed a book the other day. The usual dialog with the postal clerk involves the question whether the package contains liquids or hazardous materials. Well, definitely no on the liquids. It's a book (which was mentioned since I was sending it media mail). The fluid ink has long dried on the pages. Hazardous. Well, that one could be argued. Maybe the book (a computer software manual) could cause boredom. That might be hazardous. Or perhaps it has bad information. That too might be hazardous. It could cause paper cuts or even a bruise if it was lobbed at someone's head (it's a big book).

Book as hazardous materials. Will further ponder this dilemma.

what he really REALLY said...

2006-10-03T08:05:00.000-06:00

Computer analysis proved Neil Armstrong actually said this:
"One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind .... %@#&! what did I just step in??"

Somewhere between Kraft Macaroni Cheese and Cheetos

2006-08-28T15:59:00.000-06:00

I really wanted to paint something in my house orange. Over the weekend, I decided on the walk-in closet off my new studio office. The color is Behr's "Orange Spice" but reminds me of the cheese packets that come with Kraft Macaroni or perhaps Cheetos. Painting it burnt my retnas and gave me the munchies.

Dogs on a couch

2006-08-28T14:24:00.001-06:00

It's a good thing I work by myself. I might drive my coworkers nuts. My latest fun has been taking the film title "Snakes on a Plane" and changing the nouns. Dogs on a Couch. (snicker). Cats in a Hamper. (snicker snicker). Eggs in a Pan. (I crack myself up).

This isn't the first time this has happened to me. Some fellow mooseheads and I used to do this to a song. It's an infectious little tune from a Northern Exposure episode called "Toy Cows in Africa" by Chance. So we were replacing the lyrics with random things. Spare Rolls of Toliet Paper, Spare Rolls.

It's like an earworm -- a little song that gets stuck in your head. Try it. It's fun. Computers on a Desk. Squirrels on a Fence.

Bats in the Belfry.

In celebration of a short but happy dog life

2006-08-20T22:45:00.000-06:00

This past weekend one of my nephews (a two-legged one) tried to come into the world a little too early. Labor was stopped, his mom was pumped with steroids to get his little lungs to be fully cooked, and she was prescribed rest for about another week. So far he’s behaving himself and staying put.

At the same time, another nephew (a four-legged one) left this world for the great doggie Beyond. Gunner was a big, goofy German Shorthair that my youngest sister adopted from the breed rescue. He had been returned twice (once by a prominent, well-known business man/politician in Colorado whom we don't like, mainly because he returned a rescued dog). It may have been because Gunner was not a hunting dog, even though that was he was bred to do. He was a big, loveable couch potato except when it came walks.

Gunner came to my sister and her husband defective. He had tumors. They found this out after he was adopted, but follow the same philosophy that I subscribe: you adopt a four-legged for life. They gave him lots of love and vet treatments. He won out over the tumors then and has had a happy and spoiled three years. But recently a tumor came back -- this time on his liver. It cut off his stomach and he was unable to eat. There was nothing that could be done, and they had to make the heart-wrenching decision to end his pain and suffering and let him go.

Mollie, his English Pointer sister, loved to tease him, but also loved to snuggle with him. The family bought a new home last Fall. The first winter proved the older house was colder than the rental they had before. Gunner made do by sleeping in front of one of the large floor vents in the dining room. Mollie, wanting that same primo spot would pretend to see something of great interest out the large front window. Eventually Gunner would lumber over to see what the fuss was about. Then speedy Mollie would steal his heated spot.

Gunner had a rough life his first several years, but my sister, her husband and Mollie gave him the best three years in the end. They adopted him "as is" and gave him the best life possible. Three years with them was not enough but in return, he gave them lots of stubborn, goofy, happy dogness. We will all miss him dearly.

Snakes vs. Chapstick

2006-08-11T11:16:00.000-06:00

The new film, Snakes on a Plane (a good example of “name it exactly what it is”) shows what happens when a cargo of live snakes breaks loose and they slither havoc all over the plane. Seems pretty far-fetched but given recent events since 2001, you have to wonder. Maybe snakes wouldn’t be so bad.

First it was the frightful “Eyelash Curlers on a Plane,” immediately following September 11th. Okay. There was a long list of items you could no longer bring aboard, but eyelash curlers really stuck out to me. Granted I’ve pinched an eyelid or two with those torture contraptions but trying to attack someone else -- how do you get them to stand still long enough?

Now it’s the ultimate terror, “Chapstick on a Plane.” Okay. Again, I do understand why and I understand the immediate response. But all I can think about is a flight without my chapstick and my water bottle. I have a touch of Monk (and a sensitive tummy). I can’t do the shared water bottle thing -- especially if the rumors are true that some airlines just refill that bottle from the airplane tap. My tummy is grumbling and my lips are chapping just thinking about this. Dude, I need my chapstick.

It will always be something. I think that terrorists’ ultimate goal is to slowly drive us insane. Maybe kill us with chapped lips. Only then can we be converted from our evil ways.

Aren’t we all just a little famous?

2006-08-02T22:38:00.000-06:00

Fellow blogger and friend, Nichelle, posted her brushes with fame and asked for readers’ stories. I have thought about the many brief encounters I’ve had with “famous” people.

The earliest I can remember is meeting Walt Morey in the fifth grade. He wrote a book called “Kavik the Wolf Dog” which was high on my list then. He signed my book.

In junior high, the band Three Dog Night came to my school to tell us not to do drugs and did a concert. I got to interview them for the school newspaper. (A sidenote, the only drug issue at my junior high was chewing tobacco). This moment begun my dream of writing for Rolling Stone.

In high school, I was in a dance company and quite often a famous dance troupe came to town. I got to do a lot of master classes with the Royal Canadian, the American Ballet, and many others. Definitely showed me I had a much better chance of writing for Rolling Stone than prancing on my toes. But it was fun.

At graduation, my aunt and a family friend took me to Chicago. While there we tailed Oprah Winfrey through the stock exchange. We took in a show at the Second City where a young comedian named Mike Myers was a hoot singing a lawnmower revolution. I got to meet him after the show. About six months or so later saw him on SNL for the first time.

When I hit college, my love of music and the Rolling Stone goal led me to the program council to work security at the campus concerts. I was personally flipped off by John Lydon, one of the other members of PiL tried to get up my skirt. I hung out with That Petrol Emotion and their opening band at a bar on the Hill in a raging blizzard. I denied Flea’s request for a blow job (apparently the reason some women go back stage??). I was roped into pretending I was the lead singer’s fiance of a band whose name escapes me. (Ah, the golden years). I had a pleasant conversation with the B-52s. In my 4+ years of college concerts, I met dozens of popular musicians (and got autographs) from Butthole Surfers to Pete Townsend.

(If you haven’t figured it by now, that Rolling Stone gig never happened. No worries. Life changes constantly.)

Working concerts taught me how to try to meet bands at other concerts. Once I took my then 11-year-old sister Annie to her favorite singer’s show – Randy Newman. After the show, I talked our way backstage and had a long conversation with the singer. Along the way he offered me a job to be a PR assistant. "Does that require moving to LA?" I asked. Of course it did, and I politely declined. I wouldn't have been able to breath there.

I took another sister to a Howard Jones concert and talked our way back stage there. After a fantastic show, it was wonderful to meet one of my favorite singers. I animatedly talked with him about his Macintosh computer used on stage. My sister stood there with her mouth hanging open. Later she told me I was a geek. I mentioned that yes, but I had a long conversation beyond “can you sign this, please?” Other times it was pure luck, accidentally walking in on a meet and greet of my current favorite, the Barenaked Ladies last December (except Kevin). I got a couple of sentences exchanged and had them all sign my BNL santa hat.

In the past 10 years I have been a fan(atic) of the tv show Northern Exposure. Since 1997, I’ve attended a fan festival in Roslyn, Washington. I've gotten to meet at length several of the show's stars. One of the most intresting contacts: I've had many pitchers of beer with Barry Corbin, and listened to many stories in his Texas drawl. Many other of the stars, guest stars and extras have come to the fest.

The past four years, my husband has worked for a local culinary festival group. I’ve been able to meet up with many celebrity and up-and-coming chefs. It’s a hoot to hang out with someone, have some drinks, really get to know them, buy their cookbook, then see them on the Food Network or Travel Channel.

But probably the best encounter I ever had was two minutes with author Maya Angelou (after four hours of standing in line). An incredible writier and speaker, Maya exudes class and positive energy. I was the second to the last person she would sign. I got to touch her hand, feel her energy and thank her for everything she does. That one rules out all the others.

Get your girl on?

2006-07-21T17:26:00.000-06:00

Okay... so let me get this straight. If I buy and drive a Hummer, people won't cut in front of me on the slide? Ah, if it were only so easy.

Seriously, do I run over the mean bitch's mini van with the Hummer? Or is it just a Hummer aura that I wear about me? Perhaps Hummer pheramones that frighten people from even consider crossing me path. [oooh, smell that, she's got a hummer. Step lightly!]

I think the only good thing about owning a Hummer is that my car would finally be visible. I don't know how a red Saturn with daytime running lights can be invisible but it is. A hummer would make people think twice about cutting me off in traffic.

In the meantime, I guess I'll just let people cut in front of me at the slide. The funds I save in gas money and car payments I'll take with me to Hawaii ... Twice.

Pencils, pens and highlighters … oh my!

2006-07-18T15:10:00.000-06:00

It all started with an innocent trip to Office Depot for one item – a package of printer-ready postcard paper. But I walked in the door to one of my favorite times of the year: Back to School! Yes, it is still July, which is technically the middle of the summer but in the increased pace of the retail world calendar ... it's Back to School time.

I started to rove amongst the displays of colorful notebooks, pens, locker shelves – hey, where were those when I had a locker. I had to build my own (and I feel it’s made me a better person). My heart starts to beat faster at all the cool new things. The smell of new pens and Elmer’s Glue makes me giddy.

Oh look, Sharpie has a collection of cool highlighters (need them for my “old fashioned time sheets”). I must have them. Oh look, cool new mechanical pencils, and a small scissors with a cover (perfect for card class). And a softsided Mead pencil case you can open, fold over and make stand up like a can (another thing perfect for card class to haul my gluesticks and scissors).

I started to hyperventilate. Luckily I was roaming the aisles sans basket. I do less damage at checkout when I can only carry so much. I made it out of the store with some fun new things and nothing frivolous... no, really, everything purchased has a job to do in my hectic life.

I went on with my errands that were fairly uneventful until I hit the SuperTarget…. Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy!

From Rico to Chico (part 2)

2006-06-29T09:37:00.000-06:00

After leaving the Telluride Bluegrass Festival on Sunday night, we arrived at the Best Western in Montrose at 1 am Monday. It was a really nice place and would have liked to spend more time there – at least a full night!

The sun and 6 am came a bit too quickly. My hubby took me to the Montrose airport so I could catch the first of three flights to get me to my next destination – Chico, California. I was running late and was reprimanded by the counter person/gate person. Montrose has one gate (I think), maybe two? I buzzed through the mini-security and then onto the mini-plane (an Embraer Brasilia EMB-120 turboprop). My carry-on bag had to go underneath and my laptop barely fit under the seat in front of me.

Our bathroom apparently was out of commission (not a problem since the flight was only about an hour), but there was the wafting odor of pee through out the mini-cabin. The view outside the window was fantastic -- well the opposite window from me. My shade was jammed shut. Our flight attendant, Jessica, was a fiery redhead with a fierce scowl. She sat in the front of the plane and glared the entire flight. If there were to be snacks and drinks, that was just too bad. We were on our own.

The flight was quick but the landing at DIA made my heart skip a few beats. Denver’s almost-to-Kansas airport location provides some interesting wind currents in a larger plane. We made it safely on to the ground at the mini-terminal arm branched off of the B terminal. It was a short wait and then on to plane number 2 – this time a large, roomy Airbus to San Francisco.

Another short wait and then on to plane number 3, another Brasilia Turboprop. This time I had the single seat and my laptop almost didn’t fit under the seat. I really had to wedge it under there. The seat I was supposed to be in was the first one and my laptop did not fit into the overhead compartment so I took the next one back and made a new friend with the woman who's seat I swapped with. She was headed to the same workshop I was, as was half the plane.

This time my window shade worked and after flying out of the clouds of San Francisco, I watched the rolling fields and patchworks of Northern California pass below me. Less than an hour later, we landed in Chico. I realized that I really didn’t know where I was on a map (but looked it up later). A short taxi ride to the Hotel Diamond and I was at my home away from home for the week.

I was in Chico for a business workshop/certificate in my field at the university. Chico is a small college town. My hotel was about two blocks from campus. The first afternoon I decided to walk around the town and get the lay of the land, and also to get my legs unfolded from all those plane rides. It was stifling hot but there were plenty of shady spots to walk about – especially on campus.

I ran into my friend Hannah from the plane and we chatted a bit. She mentioned a natural food store several blocks away. We continued on separate paths only to run into each other at the store awhile later. I stocked up on studying munchies, and picked up a refreshing looking juice. Later I discovered that you really should read the label in health food stores. This one had some odd ingredient in it that made it taste like feet with a slight bit of mango on top.

I crashed early that night after walking about in the heat, the three plane rides, lack of sleep and the fun weekend before.

The workshop was interesting but not so much to include it here in the blog. I passed the ceritficate test with 100% (whew! “self-paced” online classes in my book seems to be “wait to the last minute”). I also met and heard many great folks in the business.

One great thing in Chico was the Pita Pit. You pick a pita sandwich and add all the fixings (like a Subway). It was so good, I had it two nights in a row and would have done a third had I not talked Hannah into dinner at the Tres Hombres. One great thing about Hannah is she thought I was in my late 20s.

I also caught my first Bookcrossing book at a local coffee shop, Has Beans. Unfortunately it really wasn’t something I wanted to read (and that the original reader had repurposed into a vegan cookbook). None the less, but I’ll have fun passing it on, maybe into Boulder or the freebox in Telluride when I head back there for another event in August.

The bad thing about Chico is that it was an oven the whole time I was there – above 100 degrees F. Uhg. I was very happy to arrive home back to cooler weather in Colorado.

From Rico to Chico (part 1)

2006-06-27T18:06:00.000-06:00

Summer brings a schedule full of things, including travel and concerts. A couple of weeks ago, we loaded up the car and headed for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Telluride is about an eight-hour drive from Denver. It’s a really pretty one that goes through many different landscapes. You have the front range and the Rocky Mountain views of Vail, and Glenwood Springs, which morphs into the desert like landscape of Grand Junction. Driving south on highway 50 brings you to the Alps-like San Juan mountains of the Dallas Divide and the peaks around Telluride.

We stayed with friends just outside of Telluride in the old mining town of Rico. With a summer population of about 500 and a winter population of 200, it is a small town where everyone knows everyone else and dogs run free. It’s a lot like Cicely, Alaska – complete with it’s own cast of characters. We had lunch at the Enterprise Bar & Grill on the main street and were treated to tastings of the bar owner's new supply of really hot! sauces. That evening as the sun when down, so did the temperature -- a welcome relief from the 100+ days in Denver the previous week. We spent the evening at friends of our friends with a bonfire, good food, beer and good chatting.

Sunday morning, after a good meal of bagels and fixin’s, we caravaned into Telluride for the Bluegrass Festival. Telluride is an awesome place for a show. The scenery is incredible. Plus the people watching is pretty interesting. We staked out a spot and set up our day camping gear, chairs and all and were soon joined by other friends.

Telluride is at 8750 feet in altitude, but many of the concert-goers were much higher than that. If you ever wonder what happened to the Deadheads when the Grateful Dead stopped touring, just look in the Town Park camping. Lots of dreadlocks, tie-die, really dirty feet and a lack of soap. Ah, the life of the nomad. I itch just thinking of it.

During the day, we took a break from the high-altitude sun (too much can make me grouchy) and took the pups of the group with us up the gondola. Sheena was thrilled to join the ride. Sya would have preferred staying on ground level and tried to burrow herself in the humans’ laps. It’s a palm-sweaty view for me, especially when there’s a strong cross breeze. At the top of the hill (approximately 10,000 feet) we had a fantastic, although steep view. Our friends informed us this was one of the ski runs. Wow, definitely a Warren Miller kind of run -- straight down.

In spite of the days’ heat in the ozone-deprived sun, the night can cool down quickly. As the sun rounded the mountains, folks started to add layers. Out came the fleece, the wool socks, gloves and more.

The headliner of the Sunday show was my favorite band, the Barenaked Ladies. Most people would not think of them as Bluegrass but they have a very folksy feel to their music. They did a mostly acoustic set with the banjos, accordian, and more. They also played many songs from their new album coming out on September. With their usual offbeat humor, they commented on the "dirty" dancing (of the nomad folks I mentioned before), the ride into the Telluride airport (a tricky one, and the nation's highest airport), and various other "Only in Telluride" quips.
After the show, we bade hasty goodbyes and booked it out of town an hour and a half north to Montrose, where I had an 8 am flight Monday morning.

That story in part 2!

Could be pilot error?

2006-04-29T14:35:00.000-06:00

Computers have made our lives easier but sometimes I wonder if it is making humans more stupid. There seems to be a human element of just plain common sense in a lot of computer generated work these days.

My aunt, the one who just lost her husband has been mired down with paperwork. It’s the little things that stick out. She just received a letter addressed to her, mailed to her current address (not forwarded) from the Social Security Administration. It stated that they were unable to mail her social security check because they didn’t have a current address for her.

My husband and I just refinanced. My previous mortgage was in my former married name and my ex-husband’s name. When I realized I was getting a check back for the remaining escrow amount, I asked how I could get the check to just me and in my current name. Simple, Chase replied. Just send a letter and a copy of the divorce agreement. So I sent a letter, a copy of the divorce agreement, the Quit Claim deed and a couple of other supporting documents.

Yesterday I received the check made out to my ex-husband and my former married name.

Today I received two letters from Chase, my former mortgage company. The first stated that they had received my letter and would forward it to the appropriate department. The second said that they had received my letter but needed the approproate documentation – a copy of the divorce settlement (which of course was stapled to the letter).

Earlier this week I received a water bill from the city. I pay a budget billing program that pulls the same amount out each month (until month 12 where it reconciles the difference) and also have auto pay - where it withdraws from my bank automatically. The bill was past due and appeared to have been so for two months. So I called. This person did have common sense and explained to me their new computer system had a few bugs. One of those bugs was that it was now pulling $25 a month rather than $31, even though my water usage had increased in 2005 from 2004. The computer should have calculated a larger amount based on the actual usage. The other problem is that it randomly decided not to pull auto pays each month. Thankfully this was understood about the new system and that it would all work out in the end. Nothing was my fault, she assured me, and my water would not be suddenly turned off.

I had a similar thing happen with the new Dell laptop lease I have. For some reason, I had a past due of $2.64 and no payment had been pulled for April. Ends up what happened was that I had received notice that my autopay wouldn’t start for 30 days, so I wrote a check for the March amount. The autopay pulled two days later. Since the $2.64 was a monthly tax imposed by the state, the computer had to show it in the month of April - even though I had paid it twice in March. After a 20 minute phone call, I was told not to worry, it would catch up with the May payment. I understand it need to show up monthy but why the heck didn't it just give me a credit for the extra $2.64 for April instead of a past due.

Don’t worry Hal, I don’t blame computers. They only do what stupid humans tell them to do. But I think we are seriously becoming dumb and dumber by the minute. The more we rely on computers to calculate/automate/distribute based on what we tell them to do, the less common sense we have as a race. I can see why the cylons took over the twelve colonies.

As the old saying goes, seriously people, pull your head out of your …

Saying goodbye when you have the chance

2006-04-09T11:51:00.000-06:00

Is knowing someone is going to die better than having someone die suddenly? When you know someone is going to die, you have your chance to say goodbye and to meet with them one last time. When someone dies suddenly, you may have regrets about not being able to say goodbye.

My mother’s older brother died this morning of cancer. He went into hospice in January -- the doctor giving him two weeks. I knew he had cancer a year ago, when right around my wedding they moved from Arizona to Salem, Oregon to be near one of their sons and grandchildren.

My mother went to visit him in March. She encouraged me to do the same but when I found a flight about 10 days out, she thought maybe not. Who knew if it would be in time. So I didn’t go. Life got in the way. She gave me their phone number. For whatever stupid reason, I didn’t call. I have stupid phones and most of the time I can’t hear on them. It was a dumb excuse and one I now regret because it is too late.

It’s been more than 20 years since I have seen my uncle Bob and his wife. I think the last time was when I was in high school. They came through town in their RV which I thought was the coolest thing on the planet. When I first met my uncle and his wife, I think they lived next door to my grandparents on Long Island, NY. I say "I think" because I was really young. My mom is the baby of three kids and there's about 13 years between her and her brother. She was kind of a surprise (but a good one in my opinion).

In 1977, my grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and we went back to New York to celebrate. There also was a trip to New York in 1981 after my sister Annie was born. I think it was this second trip, that my uncle and aunt had moved from the house to a houseboat on the Hudson. I have pictures of us tooling around in a rowboat. I was small then and thought the houseboat was really cool. Now it might be a little small – but then it was really cool. My uncle also took us to where he worked in one of the tallest building in the United States – one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. We got to go to the top and I still have pictures from my little Kodak 126 of the Statue of Liberty and lots of clouds.

He retired not long after that and they traded the houseboat for a camper van and begun traveling around the country. Around the time I got into the book “Blue Highways” by William Least Heat Moon from a reading contest at school. I always thought of my uncle in Least Heat Moon’s stories. Later they traded up to the nice RV with a bit more room and indoor plumbing. It had two TVs and two VCRs, which was pretty cool in the mid-80s.

At one point, they got into an accident. I don’t remember what happened exactly but it seems my aunt had a lot of neck and back injuries. Around then, they decided to stop traveling and settled down in Arizona into a house on the ground without any wheels.

The amount of times I met my uncle Bob I can count on one hand. It was more the distance between New York and Colorado than anything. Email made it a little better the past couple of years. But the times I did meet him were good and fun.

He was a really wonderful man and I am sorry I didn’t know him as well as I should have. He has two sons I really don’t know at all, as well as a handful of grandkids. I got into geneology awhile back and got everyone’s names and birthdates but I don’t know them.

So this morning after my mom called, the first thing on my mind is that I never called him. Why? I don't know. Distance, time, my own crazy life in the way. None are good excuses. It’s my own fault. I didn’t get that chance to say goodbye and I knew his death was near. Perhaps in mind, I thought that he would just surprise everyone and stick around for awhile.

So here’s to my Uncle Bob, a great man. I’ll miss you.

You’re unfinanceable ?! -- music in advertising

2006-04-06T10:39:00.000-06:00

When did catchy ad jingles change to popular songs rewritten into maybe not-so-intended ways. Did Madness really see a coffee commercial when they first penned “Our House”? Naked Eyes must really love Foley’s version of “Always There to Remind Me.”

Some songs work really well for ads. Sheryl Crow’s “Everyday is A Winding Road” is used in a car commercial. Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction" would be great for an ED drug (Cialis, Viagra), although not actually used in a commercial right now. Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill” tune is used by Cingular (not sure if that is a perfect fit but I like the song). MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This” works well for the germ-infested daycare center ad for Lysol.

Maybe it’s the lure of extra money. When Bob Dylan showed up in a Victoria’s Secret commercial, many were surprised and some said it was the end of the world. Dylan had sold out. In 1987, when Nike used the Beatles song “Revolution” (rights then owned by Michael Jackson), Paul McCartney complained that the song was about a revolution, “not bloody tennis shoes.” Yet more recently in 2005, he appeared in an Fidelity Investments ad, along with his Wing’s song “Band on the Run.”

Sometimes money isn’t much of a lure and personal values rule out. Hummer had a hard time buying rights to songs for their commercials – even from small indie bands who couldn’t fathom supporting the very un-ecological gas-guzzler.

Many songs used in commercials have helped more obscure up-and-coming, indie bands hit the limelight. Apple’s I-Pod campaign has introduced Gorillaz, Jet, Rinôçérôse and others to a wider audience. Toyota got me hooked on Fisher ("It's a Beautiful Life").

I don’t mind the use of songs but in the original format, not with the lyrics rewritten. But it's almost laziness on the part of advertisers -- a lack of creativity -- that few use original written lyrics to catchy jingles. They don't even need words. Vonage’s “Whoo Hoo” tune is pretty catchy and memorable. So is United Airlines’ grandiose classical theme song.

But really, the local car commercial that has butchered EMF’s “Unbelievable" into "You're unfinanceable". Argh! It hurts my ears. It’s unbelievable! It's not even a word.

[Note: in my googling (research) found a lot of interesting things on AdTunes – another bookmarked site helping me avoid work.]

urban bastardization of otherwise harmless words

2006-03-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

Okay - seems that the treat "dilly bar" I referred to in a previous post no longer only refers to an ice cream treat. Incidentally an ice cream treat that is not available through the ice cream man (and this is the actual, original ice cream-only treat I refer to) but through Dairy Queen.

Sometimes you say something and someone giggles. You wonder why. This started when I began teaching courses at a local college. Even though I think I am not a day over 21, these kids that I was teaching apparently were still in Junior High School, masquarading as college students.

The assignment was to come up with a name for their group projects. I was trying to teach brainstorming and that no idea was a bad one as it could lead to more good ones. The project was a collection of many different subjects into one publication. One of the group members offered "Tossed Salad." Seems harmless and not too bad for a collection of different things thrown together.

Then there was the snickering. One older, non-traditional student informed me she would not be a part of such filth (although she couldn’t define the filth, but knew that the snickering boys were up to something). So I googled it. Lovely.

So that’s great that there's slang and urban terms for whatever floats your boat. But maybe when a very unhip, thirty-something klutz utters or writes something, perhaps it would be wise to assume they mean the original meaning. Just a suggestion.

If you ever want to know, here's a helpful reference. I looked up “steamy beef hand” and thankfully no one has stolen that one yet.

Steamy Beef Hand

2006-03-28T23:06:00.000-07:00

You ever wonder where some band names come from. I think this could be a good one. It started as I prepared one of my fabulous dinners (okay – took the ingredients out of the ziploc freezer bag and followed the directions from Dinner by the Dozen) —beef and broccoli. As I was browning my hamburger in a large pot the steam was bouncing off my stirring hand. I walked into the other room where the dogs became very interested in that hand.

mmmmm, steamy beef hand, I said aloud.

And a new band name was born. Now where did I put my drumsticks...

ICE CREAM MAN!!!!

2006-03-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

Wow - just barely past 55 degrees out there and the ice cream man is out... (on a Friday at 1pm - although I think it is Spring Break for the neigborhood kids). There's still a patch of snow in the yard but summer must be just around the corner...

Not sure about him - it's a cute truck but things aren't the same today as they were when I was a kid.

Really want a [edited] bomb pop now...

The Klutz's Guide to Neighborhood Watch

2006-03-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

The other morning my neighbor from across the street rang the doorbell. It was about 10 am and since it wasn't yet noon, I was still in my pjs and a sweatshirt (one of the perks of working from home office). I opened the door expecting him to hand me a package as the UPS guy is always delivering my stuff to him across the street.

Al: Are you okay?
Me: I'm fine, how are you?
[Al looks a bit confused.]

Al: Well I thought I'd just check on you since you were banging on the window...
[Now I look confused... scanning back through my previous 10 minutes...]

I realize that I had been banging on the window trying to get the squirrel out of the bird feeder. The squirrel completely ignored me, didn't even flinch. Al, across the street, who I was completely unaware of standing by his mailbox , heard me. I explain this to Al, who chuckles and moves on with his day.

I'm pretty sure the neighbors already think I am nuts ... but nice that they're keeping an eye on me none the less!

Birthdays, life, death and random thoughts in between

2006-03-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

"...The important thing is not to be bitter over life's disappointments. Learn to let go of the past. And recognize that everyday won't be sunny. And when you find yourself in the darkness of despair, remember ... it's only in the black of night you can see the stars. And those stars lead you back home. So don't be afraid to make mistakes, to stumble, fall. Because most of the time, the greatest rewards will come from doing the things that scare you the most. Maybe you'll get everything you wished for. Maybe you'll get more than you ever could have imagined. Who knows where life will take you. The road is long and in the end, the journey is the destination." - Coach Whitey Durham (Barry Corbin) in One Tree Hill

I quietly turned 36 the other day. I didn’t mean for it to be quiet – I’d much prefer fanfare and celebration. But it seems you pass “a certain age” and birthdays get lost in the rigamarole of everyday.

With the passing of each birthday, thoughts turn to life. Am I where I wanted to be at this age? Where is it that I wanted to be? What is the meaning of life? 42 ... well, in this case, 36. It seems around my birthday, I am more aware of the fact life changes so much. Just when you think you might be in a pattern or a rut, if you step back, you'll feel the wind on your face as the world spins around you.

My grandmother is 77 – a fact that she brings up a lot lately. Perhaps it is a way to justify the whirlwind of changes she has just made. She moved from her house of 20-plus years into a stylish new place. It’s not assisted living, or a retirement building. It’s actually a pretty coo loft. But it is about one-quarter the size of her house – much more manageable for a 77 year old, albeit a fairly healthy one. She also sold the family cabin, as you may have read in previous posts. She's made these changes sort of as a way of getting her affairs together. Not that she is going anywhere. But she is 77, she will remind you this if you mention anything.

As I was contemplating the “when” of having a child, not the if, I suddenly was gripped with a fear that I might not be around for grandchildren. Then I realized that it is foolish to think that way. You really can't plan for anything in life. It doesn't work out that way. I am definitely a planner. My husband is a fly-by-the-seat-of-the pants-er. He’s been calling me type A lately. He’s right. He’s a B. So we complement each other by sometimes meeting in between. So I end up putting in place the financials, the schedules, the what-ifs, and he provides the why-nots, the let’s-gos, and the better-now-than-laters. Sometimes we flip when I suggest we run off to Paris next weekend and he reminds me we have to pay taxes.

Back to life’s changes. My mother’s brother is in the late stages of prostate cancer. He is in Salem, Oregon. I haven’t seen him in 20 years but have kept in touch on and off by email. I’d like to visit him but am having trouble getting the where-with-all to do so. True the cheaper fares are two weeks out. But life is so busy. There's a loan closing, a book club meeting, work, class to teach, taxes to do, dogs to board. All that can be rescheduled and taken care of pretty easily. I’m afraid to book a trip and end up being too late, but at the same time, afraid not to give it a chance.

On the other end of the spectrum, my sister is bringing new life into the world – due in September. For most people this is a joyous event and something I hope to do myself in the near future. But my sister wears blinders. She really flies-by-the-seat-of-her-pants. She’s a good person but just not a planner like her older sister. Her son has just turned 15. He’s a good kid but medicated and has a host of disorders defined by letters. This is mostly genetic. My sister herself is bipolar.

Her choice to get pregnant was that it was finally time, and she was in a good financial place. But she chose not to notice that she is just barely financially stable and that she really can’t stand her husband, who has a host of things going on himself. In order to get pregnant, she went off the medication to treat her disease. Then through a series of unfortunate events, lost her job.

I will admit this has affected my choices to become pregnant. Since there’s so much going on there, it’s hard for me to do the same and be happy about it, or for the rest of the family to be happy about it. I’ve always been my sister’s keeper. As I love her dearly, at the same time I am tired. It’s also very hard on the rest of the family – three other sisters and our parents. My mom is a worrier and has the blood pressure to prove it. One other sister has been going through her own changes in life – most recently health issues. Thankfully it turned out not to be Leukemia, as was a possibility, but instead good old-fashioned mono. She mirrors her big sister in work hours – too many of them!

The last thing about my birthday is that each March brings a reminder of an old friend’s birthday – exactly two weeks before mine. His mother and mine were good friends before we were around. There are pictures of us as babies, toddlers and young kids. I moved to a different town in third grade and didn't see him as often after that. His mom still came to Bridge night but he typically stayed at home. When I was 17, he took his own life. I had a great deal of teen angst and often wondered if I could just give up. I could never have gone through it. In reality, I just needed a good vacation. I often wonder what happened for him to be at a point in his life to do this. There was speculation of many things: that a former teacher of his was accused of molesting students and he might have been involved. Or possibly he had received a lower grade than expected (I believe he had a 4.0 GPA and was already accepted to School of Mines as a high school junior). Or that he simply had a shortcircuit in his body chemestry. There were no other indications, no signs.

Several years later, his mother succumbed to cancer that slowly took over her whole body. She was a wonderful person. No one deserves to lose a child this way and then lose her own life to such a horrid disease, but she deserved it the least. I think of her daughter and her husband left behind. I don't think my mother is in touch anymore but I hope that their lives are really good to them now.

The quote at the beginning of this post struck a chord with all these thoughts swirling around in my head. It’s a WB show about teen angst but the script writer has it spot on. And it doesn’t hurt hearing it spoken in the deep Texas voice of one of my favorite actors.

Life is a journey. You might as well eat cheetos in the car, take lots of pictures along the way, and maybe have a birthday party or two at McDonalds.

It's March 18 - do you know where your snow shovel is?

2006-03-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year and we're about due for a biggie. The setup is right - rain due to start this afternoon, turning to snow overnight. Okay mother nature - what's the plan?

Tuft-butt season

2006-03-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

In many parts of the country, the Groundhog may signal the coming of Spring. Here, it’s big tufts of white and brown fur everywhere. Yup, it’s tuft-butt season when our brown dog/German Shepherd mix Sarah-dog blows her coat. She has gorgeous fur - a marble of red, brown, white, tan. The birds love it too, lining the nest with her brushing piles from the yard. The cats are not so fond of it —especially when I give them little dog hair wigs. Now there's a picture for "Stuff on my cat." BA HA HA HA! [Yes, they will smother me in my sleep...]

George Clooney and dreams

2006-03-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

And now, on a lighter note... (I do have several blogs started but not finished - damn work ... damn taxes ... damn life).

I need to start writing down my dreams. This morning I dreamed I was watching a movie at someone's house and George Clooney slipped some drugs into my drink or food. It was speed but in the dream I was a slug. I decided I needed to walk it off and Jason Alexander was there. He was helping me and saying that was really uncool of George.

??!

I sometimes try to figure out where this comes from and if there is a message. In the past I have had dreams that are foretelling things to come. Years ago I dreamt my biological Dad had died but all I got was a phone call and wasn't able to find out where he was, only that I needed to come deal with it. In the real world, the next day he called me to tell me he was getting married (to a very nice woman and they've been married ten years). I also had a very vivid apocalyptic dream on Sept. 9, 2001.

Anyway, back to George Clooney, whom I sure is a very nice guy. The drugs are probably because I have new glasses and am getting used to them (prescription changed slightly, not to mention that they actually sit in the right place on my face, which I am not used to). They do make me a little dizzy. Mr. Clooney was on the Oscars the other night. Jason Alexander was in a movie I watched over the weekend. Still don't know what it all means but it's funny to see how the brain works.

This is how a heart breaks

2006-02-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

Have you ever felt so incredibly sad - like someone punched you in the gut? You fight to breath normally. The skin around your eyes stings from salt in your tears. This is my Saturday -- a beautiful, warm sunny blue-sky Colorado day. The hubbie and I went to the cabin to clear out the things we left for future visits. I took some pictures to remember everything about the place.

And I cried. A lot.

I recall crying like this only a couple of times in my life. Once it was at my Grandpa's funeral. I feel like he has died again. My heart races, my breath squeezed out of me. I have to say goodbye to this place and it's so incredibly hard.

On my final way out the door, I grab a wooden sign with the family name on it. There's four of these - one inside, one hanging outside by the driveway, and two at the dirt road intersections leading up to the place. This is the one I can bear to remove. Taking one of the others down is too painful. I will save this sign for the day when we can get our own place like this.

The air is crisp. The sun warm on my wet cheeks. The stiff breeze musically wind through the pine trees.

This is how a heart breaks.

It's gone

2006-02-23T23:34:00.000-07:00

There are five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. I think I’ll save some time and hit them all at once.

The family cabin is gone. Grandma rushed ahead and put it up for sale, even after the hubbie and I offered to take it over. It was gone in a day for more than what she asked for and definitely more than what we could have afforded. She’s never seemed to me to be someone so concerned about money and certainly didn’t need to be.

We are upset that we weren’t part of the discussion. I know I am not alone in this. My parents weren’t even in on the decision. My dad’s name is on the trust. He had to sign papers for the sale against his choice. This was supposed to be for all of us.

I know I am an incredibly sentimental person. This was one of the last places where my grandpa was still around. My grandparents bought the place in 1993. He died from cancer in 1995. The time in between, he spent hours rebuilding the place, making it a year-round family retreat. My grandpa’s spirit is there.

Now it’s sold.

Maybe it was better I didn’t know this when we were there before Valentine’s Day. I would have just been sad and not enjoyed the serenity, the peacefulness. There are things we have to pick up that we left there for our future visits. I will probably run up this weekend just to get it done with. The longer I wait, the harder it will be.

Acceptance is the light at the end of the tunnel. But in the meantime, I have four tough steps to get through.

You say Turin, I say Torino

2006-02-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

I had Olympic aspirations. I was the roller skate queen of Arapahoe drive. Decked out in torn knee jeans and giant fuzzy bell pom-poms, I faithly hit my blacktop driveway whenever it was clear of snow. I skated my heart out to Abba's "The Winner Takes It All" or Neil Diamond's "America". I got my inspiration from ice skaters. Hey, I can do that triple twirl, toe-picking sowcow (not likely spelled that way and having nothing to do with farm animals). I flung myself into the air believing I was achieving that exact step. Nevermind my toe pick was actually a bright red stopper and my blades were actually wheels.

I was going for the gold.

Unfortunately, roller skating never became an Olympic sport. Eventually the white roller skates wore out. The fluffy pompoms disappeared. Abba and Neil Diamond were replaced with New Wave. Time on the blacktop turned into time somewhere else.

As I tune into the 2006 Winter Olympics, I watch the ice skaters and know somewhere inside the roller queen skates on.

Wobbly bits

2006-02-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

I think that phrase may have come from “Bridget Jones Diary.” It’s been wobbling around in my head lately. For almost a year, I've been obsessed with my wobbly bits – more so then the usual. In March 2006, I was diagnosed with high-blood pressure, pre-diabetes, and poly-cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). I weighed in at my all time high of 235 pounds. I had joint pain and fatigue. I was winded walking across the campus where I teach. I don't know how it happened but gradually since college I had been moving less and eating not too bad, but not too good either. Coupled with the PCOS, which causes the weight gain, blood pressure, and blood sugar issues, I was losing the battle of the bulge.

Tired of feeling tired, I knew I needed to do something. I walked into a nearby commercial diet center and said, "what do I have to do to get started." The answer: a really, really strict diet, and a good chunk of money. In fact, it’s a paid version of an eating disorder. Okay, maybe that’s too harsh. But the program has a single sheet of paper listing what I can eat and when. No fruit after 6pm. Beef, cottage cheese and canned tuna can only be eaten every other day (a day between each item). I picked the program because it was advertised that is allows "real food." Yes, it does. But it's a very short list of real food. In addition, you buy "nutritional supplements" to fill in the gaps of the very short list. That’s where a lot of the program cost lies.

The program also doesn’t include exercise. It’s okay -- but they warn you it might slow your weight loss. (??!) This is true as muscle weighs more than fat. However, my goal wasn’t to just drop 90 pounds, it was also to be in better shape over all. So I also signed up with a personal trainer class at the rec center that is three blocks from my house.

At the time I started the diet program, I also started taking Metformin (a diabetes medicine) to treat the PCOS. The idea was to get to four pills a day, which was supposed to completely reverse the condition. My body really argued about the meds. I think much of my initial weight loss was more from the side effects of the meds, then the diet itself. I also went through Costco-sized bottles of pepto-bismol. I never could get past two pills in a day and finally ditched them mid-September. Some of the other treatments for the disease include diet and exercise. So I decided to stick to that route.

I lost about 50 lbs so far but hit that weight in October. Since then I have fluctuated a couple of pounds up and down but have really stayed in one place. This has been particularly frustrating. The diet center's answer is to take more of their pill supplements. Right now I take a multi-vitamin but draw the line at all the other stuff. I have similar reactions to supplements as I do to the Metformin.

One of the good things about this plan is that it is balanced. It doesn’t throw out entire food groups. I argue some are pretty limited but it has protein/starch/fruit/veggies. But I’ve also grown tired of the limited, bleak list of food and occasionally have added a few things in here and there. I know this has slowed down the weight loss but this is real life. I have learned about portions and calories. In fact, most of my “cheats” are things most people wouldn’t consider being a diet cheat. Carrots, for example, aren't allowed. Neither are bananas. Yes, these things will be "allowed" back when I hit the maintenance phase. But they have too much sugar for now. I also eat an occasional Hershey's kiss. Like I said, this is real life.

I’ve also recognized that stress plays a big part in your weight. A very busy life leads to food on the run and cooking what is easy. For me, that was refrigerated tortellini pasta. But I would eat the whole box myself with butter. Granted that was dinner after a day of maybe eggs and one other item. I wasn’t eating enough and what I was eating was storing itself and contributing to my insulin issues. It was comfort food - calming in the storm. I’ve learned that I can eat this stuff – but in balance and in portions. There's also other ways of calming stress.

Slowing down and eating away from the computer or TV has also helped. I have a hard time sitting and eating without doing something else. But watching a netflix blockbuster, I could eat a whole Chipotle burrito without noticing and then wonder why I felt like I was going to burst. Luckliy, I’ve discovered another obsession of mine (Sudoku) is something that slows me down. It works my brain and lets me eat slower. When you eat slower, you recognize when you are full. It also helps you enjoy the food more. Sometimes just a couple of bites of something you love can satisfy you just as much as eating the whole thing.

Cravings have been strange though. Last summer I craved Cheetos (the crunchy kind). This isn’t something I normally ate but I was obsessed with “cheatos”. If someone had a bag of them, I was a goner. Now I really crave one of those cheesy bites pizzas. They say cravings mean that you are missing something needed in your diet. I don’t think I am missing pepperoni but perhaps the calcium in the cheese. My diet doesn’t allow much dairy – 4 oz milk a day and 5 oz cottage cheese three times a week.

I work at home which has been both good and bad for the diet. It’s been good because I am not tempted by donuts/bagels/birthday cake and other goodies brought in by coworkers. I can make my meals fresh. The bad is that the kitchen is just down the hall from my office. I have to be sure not to have anything bad on hand.

Working at home, I keep the TV on the Travel Channel or HGTV. I see a lot of weight loss commercials. The common theme is “find the real you.” The real yous of all these folks are size sixes. I started at a size 20/22 and thought that 16 sounded pretty good. I wanted to be a size that I could walk into any store I liked and find something that fit. I wanted to fit into a "Large" so I could pick up cheap deals at Costco. I am now a size 14 ... petite. Ends up the round butt kept normal length pants and skirts higher off the ground. It's funny being considered petite but still being about 30-40 pounds of where I should be on the charts.

So while I am frustrated I’ve not lost the 90 pounds originally planned by the diet center, I have to look at the fact that I have lost 50 pounds. My blood pressure and blood sugar are back to a healthy normal. I can run around, even at 14,000 feet, and be able to breath, without my heart beating out of my chest. I can find things that fit on the clearance rack at Target and on the tables at Costco, as well as all my favorite stores.

I still have some wobbly bits. I started Jazzercise classes again (after a six year hiatus following my traumatic divorce). I would like to smooth out some of those bits (like my “belly butt” that appears with lower waist pants) but have decided that curves are pretty cool. I didn't lose the boobs, although now they’re a little lower without my belly holding them up.

I will continue the program as planned. At the same time, I will try to lighten up on myself. It's not a failure since I've accomplished all the goals but the actual number on the scale. And that’s a pretty cool thing.

Bridge over troubled water

2006-02-19T22:29:00.000-07:00

Found this while randomly surfing blogs:

http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/member/birthdayno1.php

The number one song when I was born was Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water." (Okay ... water ... I am a pisces. Does this has some deeper meaning??)

When I turned 18, it was Rick Astley "Never Gonna Give You Up."

Somehow I always thought my life's theme song would be the theme from Fame.

The groundhog and the power of two

2006-02-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

Man, that groundhog wasn’t kidding. Every February 2, when the little rodent sees his shadow, I think Duh! There are six more weeks of winter no matter how you look at it. Spring starts on March 20, 2006, at precisely 1:26 P.M. EST. That’s six weeks from February 2.

In my neck of the woods, this time of year is when the snow really starts to fall. The mountains have been walloped this year with tons of snow but down here in the front range, not so much. Our winter has been mostly wind. Lots and lots of wind. And some more wind. Did I mention the wind?

Saturday we had snow and some record low cold. It's -2 as I get ready for my 10:30 Jazzercise class. On goes my athletic socks, yoga pants and tank top. Then a warm up shirt that has long sleeves with thumb holes in the end. I top that off with a pair of sweat pants and wool socks. I add a fleece jacket. When it gets this cold, you start wearing two of everything: two gloves, two coats, two pants ... two nostrils frozen together.

When I am all bundled up to go, I feel like the “Christmas Story” kid. I also know why Minnesotans say “Uff Da.” It’s the sound you inadvertently make when you try to move around in this cold weather body armor.

Later as I am bundled into my cozy little house, I watch the cats lick the ice on the insides of the windows. I wonder if their tongues will get stuck to the metal. It’s “two” dang cold. Yet I know in a couple of months, it will be too dang hot.

Fun with Kennel Cough, plastic splinters, and large quantities of dish soap

2006-02-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

I should just give up. I will never have a normal, easy life. Whenever I take some time off, something happens (usually some kind of damage to my house while I am away). We took a quiet weekend away for the two of us. Sarah-dog and Flounder went to Camp Bow Wow. When I made the reservations a couple of weeks ago, they told me their Bordatella vaccine was due and that we should probably get it beforehand since they had some kennel cough going around.

So the pups headed to vet two weeks ago for their shot.

Well, it ends up getting a Bordatella shot is a little like a flu shot. It’s going to protect the pups but not 100%. Apparently this is a more aggressive strain at CBW. Both girls are coughing and snorting. Sarah-dog thinks she needs to go outside every time she coughs and then seconds later scratches to come back in. It's made for a not-so-productive work day.

So to vet we go. I’ve now got some $60 worth of antibiotics (which are the plain old nasty tasting capsule not a nice, easy to administer beef flavored pill) and another $80 for the vet to see the pups and tell me they likely have kennel cough. I talked them out of the $140 worth of “cough suppressant” instead picking up a $7 bottle of Robitussin DM (which is okay for the pups). (I like the vet that we see but I’m beginning to think it’s awfully pricey.) Except I forgot to get a syringe (like for babies). The pups aren’t going to drink the Robitussin out of the little cup. I picked up a baby medicine syringe. What expressions on their puppy faces when I shoot a teaspoon of Robitussin down their throats. Getting the antibiotic pills into Sarah is pretty easy – she’s pretty docile. Flounder, who normally will eat anything that flies in the air, is clamping her mouth shut and tried to bite my head off. Not a happy camper. I tried rolling the pill in bread.–First one went in. Then as I gave her the second, the first one flew back out of her mouth. %#&^#%!! The blasted pills are so big, they're hard to hide inside something.

The good news is that now they’ve gotten this, they should be more immune to it in the future.

But a warning to those of you out there that board or take your dogs to the dog park or doggie daycare, the shot doesn’t make them immune right away (and doesn’t make them 100% immune). And when the doggie daycare tells you that they're having some kennel cough problems, heed that as a warning and you should probably make other arrangements. At least be sure they are updated on their vaccine – apparently the nasal version kicks in quicker than the shot (which I didn’t know before). The shot can take a couple of weeks. The nasal mist – a couple of days.

So my big babies will now have to endure some quiet time to get over their doggie colds. And I get to play traffic cop everytime they go outside to keep them from kissing their boyfriends Drake and Moby.

Not sure my week could go much worse but the day also included fun with a dozen plastic splinters in my hand (from a plastic rope holding my hanging chair), and fun with a Costco-sized bottle of dishsoap that has a mysterious leak and left about an inch deep sludge of soap in my cabinet. It’s soap, so should be easy to rinse off, Right? Well, not in large quantities. There were so many bubbles that later when I went to bed, there were bubbles coming out of the downstairs toilet. Yeah, shades of Amityville Horror —but am thinking it’s more of the minor day-to-day terror of everyday life.

The art of doing nothing

2006-02-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

The hubbie and I took off early on Friday for the mountains. My grandma owns a cabin in Estes Park, near the south entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. It's an 800 sq.foot two bedroom, 1.5 bath cozy hideaway with a wrap around porch and spectacular views.

My grandparents bought the place in 1993. It was a summer cabin built around the 1920s. My grandpa, a talented woodworker, and many members of the family stripped the inside and rebuilt it to be a year-round place. There's a lot of hard work there. It’s more special because it was my grandpa's last major project before he died of cancer in 1995.

This was our second annual Valentine’s Day weekend at the cabin. We brought books, movies (and a newer VCR and DVD player to upgrade what was there) and Suduku puzzles. We spent almost the entire Saturday in PJs, taking a late day bath (in the clawfoot tub) to go out to dinner at the nearby Dunraven Inn.

The cabin is a place we’d love to bring our children – even grandchildren. It’s a peaceful place that I would love to go to every weekend. Why we haven’t gone more often ... well, we can’t bring the dogs since other folks are allergic, and while Camp Bow Wow isn’t over the top expensive, it still is an extra cost to send them to doggie camp for the weekend.

Then there is the everyday beat of a fast-paced life. Weekends around here aren’t really days off. I vowed for new year’s resolutions that I would not work weekends. Surprisingly that has stuck so far (much to the dismay of my project managers). Well, at least the not working on freelance work on the weekends. Instead, I've been doing many projects, visited my sister in Albuquerque (and helped paint her kitchen), and have been helping my grandma go through years and years of stuff as she moves from her 4000 sq foot home to a two-bedroom condo (a really cool condo but considerably smaller than the big old house).

The cabin is a place that we can catch our breath. There’s a telescope to check out local wildlife (really animals, not the neighbors) or the night’s sky. You can sit inside the big picture windows when it’s cold and just stare at the beautiful mountains in front of you. When it is warmer, you can sit outside on the wraparound porch. You can sleep for 11 hours or be up at the crack of dawn, sipping fresh brewed coffee and watching a flock of crows. You can smell the clean, crisp mountain air.

The art of doing nothing.

Now it is Monday and I am home and relaxed but only for a moment. Ends up our mountain haven, the special place my grandpa put so much work into, is going to be put up for sale in April. My grandma says she's too old (she's not) and no one else seems to find the time to go there. It's a beautiful place and too expensive for her to keep up.

The breath I caught over the weekend has been whisked away. The art of doing nothing has become the need to do something. I am angry at my family for letting this happen. I’m not angry at my grandma but angry at my parents, my aunts for not seeing this place for what it is. In the past couple of years, I couldn’t get up there because there were always folks there. I can understand and I don’t think she should be expected to cover the place herself. That's where the rest of us should be helping.

So now I am torn. There’s no way we can afford her asking price. I am considering seeing if she'll let us take over the maintenance and perhaps buy the place from her over the long term. We could conceivably go up there several times a month. She doesn't need the money - that is, she isn't desperate for it as her house will sell soon.

She won’t put it up for sale until April. Maybe that will give us time to come up with an offer or perhaps win the lottery.

Is it practical? I am a terribly sentimental person. Can it be done? Maybe.

Maybe I just need to accept it and go on. But I don’t think I can do that. But do I have a choice?

Doggie TV

2006-02-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

[Note: it's a double bonus blog day. I am cleaning out my old laptop so I can return it to Dell and thought I would just finish this one and post it already.]

It’s a wonder I ever get any work done. It’s so amusing watching the pups play. Now that the fence is down on two sides of the yard, I have two additional players in the doggie theater.

Drake, the Rottie behind me, loves to play basketball with himself. He throws the ball in the air, passing it to himself, catches it and then noses it along the ground to the other end of the yard. Then he throws it in the air again and starts over. He’s a one-dog basketball game and he’s having a blast.

Moby, the yellow Lab next door likes to climb the hill in his yard and rest in the tall grass. I think he pretends he is a lion watching for prey. He often comes over and plays with the girls. He and Flounder will be on either end of a rope toy. They start out pulling in opposite directions but soon he will start butting up against her. Sarah-dog runs circles around them barking play-by-play reports.

In fact Sarah-dog doesn’t really play with anyone but her invisible friends. We like to call her rain dog. She runs very precise, identical circles, barking to herself in the same place. Sometimes she chases invisible squirrels.

Moby will egg her on to play and eventually she will but most of it involves trying to bite him in the nether regions. But he has a short term memory problem and will keep chasing after her to get her to play again.

I’m going to move my office into the bigger room soon. This will allow me even more long moments sipping coffee or tea and watching my doggie TV.
Work ... what work?

The stupids

2006-02-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel just socially off in public? Like the moment you leave the person you just encountered, he or she is thinking “what a doofus”? Too often that’s been my kind of day. Maybe it is because I need to get out more often? Maybe I need more human interaction in my day?

I started the day at the CPA’s. I couldn’t come up with simple words - like “W2.” My mouth opened and out came random words only starting with the first letter of the words I really intended. He must have thought I had brain damage.

After that I went to the bank. I think I tried to make a joke about the check and it went over like a barrel full of lead at Niagra Falls. Better not quit my day job.

The cashier at Safeway had a bell and a note sitting on the ledge that said “ring for service.” Dopey me. “Do I have to ring it if you are already here?” hee hee? Maybe she just didn’t have a sense of humor or just thought I was really dense. No, she said seriously, taking it away from me.

A friend who recently had a baby claimed pregnancy brain. I can’t claim that right now. Perhaps I just have “Brain Full” brain. I need a hard drive backup and archive. They say stress is the biggest cause of the stupids. I’ve got plenty of that. But perhaps it’s just my good ol’ ADD.

Hey look ... a chicken.

Where the hell did February come from?

2006-02-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

Whoosh. January flew by. Of course it helped that I was out of town for the first part and the last part. Puxatawney Phil has seen his shadow and now for six more weeks of winter. For my neck of the woods, the snow part really only gets started this time of year. I am already seeing bulbs pop up in the gardens.

So a review on the “resolutions” thus far:

1. Travel more. -- a relaxing trip to Hawaii the beginning of year and a weekend in Albuquerque at the end of January. Check!

2. Related to that - get a passport already! - it’s in the mail, so in a month or so, it will be here. Check!

3. Go outside my comfort zone (got a hike along a cliff side 1,000 feet up scheduled in a week - there will be some sweaty palms but a gorgeous view and a 500 foot waterfall). The waterfall hike was fantastic and only really steep in some places and it was great. Plus I flew on a smaller commuter plan without hyperventilating in the small space. Check!

4. Lose some weight. Okay that one may be almost a cheat ‘cause I am already doing that but I’ll keep it up. Still losing (and grumbling). There’s many a blog entry here. Check!

5. Do the Bolder Boulder (which I’ve done before -- race walking but should go again now that I am actually in shape for it). Hmmm. Still thinking on this one. I ran through the airport last Friday because I was late and everything was backed up, except my plane leaving.

6. Play more fetch and take more walks with my babies. If the blasted weather (wind) would cooperate, this one will work a little better.

7. Try to be more patient and understanding of my husband who is on a completely different planet (yeah, him -- Mars, me -- Venus, I know, I know...). Packing six pairs of shorts for a week’s vacation may make sense on Mars (three are khaki green and three are khaki tan). Weird that he’s actually the one that overpacks ... I think this is part of the fun of marriage. He has many charming and positive things about him and I really enjoy his companionship. So this is a check!

8. Edit, edit, edit. Ebay, charity, craigslist ... boxes to the MIL ... I need breathing room. Hee hee. A funny thing happened on the way to less stuff... Grandma is moving after almost 20 years in her 4,000 sq. ft. house to a two bedroom condo. I can’t throw anything out. So while some of it is just temporarily resting at my house before it moves on, I do seem to be moving in the opposite direction. Still working on this one.

9. More projects around the house. We may be here awhile so might as well keep it from falling down! And get rid of the remaining white walls. Got more excited about this one after visiting my sister in Albuquerque and painting her kitchen. Plus decided to change my office to a bigger, airier room. Lots of plans in my head and as soon as I am actually home on a weekend, then the projects will begin.

10. Add another human to my family. We’ll see.

11. Have more days off - at least one *whole* weekend a month. Funny, so far my “off” weekends have been not working at work stuff but doing a lot of packing at Gram’s and painting at Sara’s house, as well as a bunch of other fun social events. But not much actual down time. Still it’s better to get away from this ol’ computer.

12. Learn to better schedule my time (as much as I can with crazy clients and crazy project managers). Still working on this one. So far, it seems I am just scheduling more time into less...

13. Change my hairstyle (since my sisters accused me of having the same on from third grade -- they apparently forgot the long bangs, shaved head, purple hair, blue tail eras of my locks.) This is kind of a cheat - I had my hair cut two days ago and it is definitely different. Check!

14. Organize. Everything. See #9.

15. Write more often. There are children’s books in my head involving my pets’ escapades and my sister Annie’s big box of colored pencils. There are article ideas. There’s this blog. There’s a lot to say. Working on it...

And now on to February...

Kona Hawaii 2006

2006-01-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

Ah, Hawaii. After the crazy holidays and before our crazy new semester/quarters and major upcoming projects, we took a quick Winter break to the Big Island of Hawaii.

We arrived in Kona mid-afternoon, picked up our car and headed down Ali’i drive to the Outrigger Keauhou. It’s a nice little hotel, right on Kahalu’u Beach Park. The lobby is fantastic, has a great bar right on the water overlooking tide pools full of turtles. One of the best places to catch a sunset with a Mai Tai. The rooms are a little dated but are being updated. The place was built in 1970 but more recently bought by Outrigger. The walls also are a little thin. We were between a family with small children and an older lady hard of hearing with a loud TV. Luckily we didn’t hear them too much. I would stay there again but probably in a more “off time” (the Fall) and would request an upper level end unit. We had gotten a free “upgrade” for a partial ocean view - which looked out over the Kahalu’u Beach Park and the ocean. That was worth it.

Our first full day, we gathered up the beach gear and headed next door to the Kahalu’u Beach Park, only to find it blocked off. Apparently over New Year’s weekend, there was really high surf that pounded the area and had broken a pipe and some sidewalks. We went up to the north end of the beach and found a place to watch the surfers. The surf was still rough for very good snorkeling but we did take a dip. Mostly watched the sea and did nothing.

In the afternoon, we headed to Buns in the Sun, the best deli in town for lunch. We boarded a van with Blake from Mauna Kea Summit Adventures to head up to the top of Mauna Kea for a sunset and some stars. Mauna Kea (“white mountain” in Hawaiian, due to the frequent snow on top) technically is the tallest mountain on planet earth. It rises all the way from the sea floor. From the island at sea level, it rises 13,792 feet. It is the second of five volcanos that make up the big island. It is dormant, last erupting about 3,500 years ago. Mauna Loa (“long mountain”) is the world’s largest mountain. It was very cold and very, very windy at the top of Mauna Kea but beautiful. We got to see a really cool shadow of the mountain on the clouds to the east. I've never seen something like that before.

We went to the visitor’s center at about 9,000 feet for a box dinner (Teriyaki Chicken that was pretty good), then ascended up the road to the summit. We wandered amongst the many observatories bundled in arctic parkas against the frigid wind and watched a fantastic sunset that included a really cool shadow of the mountain on the clouds over the east side of the island and ocean. Then we retreated to the warmer, less windy 9,000 feet for an astronomy show and some hot chocolate. We had some really great telescopes and our guides pointed out star constellations, planets, nebulas, galaxies and a wandering old Russian rocket booster (space junk). At Hawaii’s latitude, you can see both the north star and the southern cross, however the cross wasn’t up yet when we were there (was due up at 4 am). But pretty cool, none the less.

The next day after an extra cup of Kona joe, we headed up north of Kona to the Kohala coast beaches. The first one we went to, 'Anaeho'omalu Bay, is supposed to be gorgeous. However due to the same high surf from a few days before, crews had created sand berms to protect the property (Outrigger Waikaloa), which made it tough to hang out and watch the water, much less get in it. So we hopped back in the car and headed up to Kauna'oa Beach near the Mauna Kea resort. This was a fantastic beach - one of the best ever (listed as so by Conde Nast magazine). We found a secluded shaded corner and spent most of the day there lounging about, reading and swimming in the water.

This is the prime time of year for humpback whale sightings, although there are all kinds of whales near Hawaii year round. The Humpbacks winter in Hawaii, give birth and raise the youngins. Then they head back north to Alaska for the summer around March/April. We took a whale watch boat with a primo guide, Captain Dan McSweeney, who has a permit to get up close. We found several. I took horrible picture because I was so excited to see them, kept forgetting to click the shutter. (Plus I was kind of in stupid mode due to the Dramamine I took "in case." Duuude, it's a whale....). It was really cool seeing them so close. Dan knows a lot of information, as a whale researcher for more than 25 years.

Our Kahalu’u beach park opened back up so we spent some time snorkeling there. I brought out my camera in the underwater case and got a ton of great pictures. There are many sea turtles, as well as a ton of fish. Close to the shore there’s a fresh water leak which makes it a little murky but that’s also where most people stay. The park is surrounded by an underwater rock wall that helps protect it so you can go out pretty far. Which we did.

A trip to Kona wouldn’t be complete without a coffee drive. It’s a bit like visiting wineries in Napa Valley. You drive along, taste samples, tour the farm and buy up lots of pure Kona Joe. We planned for this by only packing half our suitcases, plus adding an extra duffle bag. We filled up all the extra crevices with coffee, coffee, coffee. Yum. The views from the coffee road is gorgeous. I could live up there (although it is on the third volcano on the island and one that is still mildly active, Hualalai).

I ventured out of my comfort zone for a valley hike in Pololu Valley (with Hawaii Forest & Trail). It really was worth it. It’s up high on the valley wall so is advertised not for those “extremely fearful” of heights. But the trail was wide in most places and the vegetation was thick so we weren’t looking straight down the whole time (just in a couple of places). The highlight was the 500 foot Kapaloa Falls that you get to walk behind. The trail is from building the Kohala Ditch system (which has an interesting adventure for a future trip). The ditch was built to gather water from this very wet side of the island and flow it to the drier side around the corner for sugar processing. The sugar companies are long gone and the ditch really isn’t used. But the trail is a great, easy hike with gorgeous scenery. Our guide, Denny was a lot of fun and had some great info on the way to the spot, which includes about 15 minutes four-wheel driving. (My teeth are still rattling.)

We visited two National Parks while we were there - Pu`uhonua o Honaunau and Kaloko-Honokohau. Pu`uhonua o Honaunau is the place of refuge where early Hawaiians who had broken rules could go and do certain things to be pardoned of their crimes. Part of this area was still roped off from the high surf. We were there at the end of the day and the light coming through the palm trees was really cool. Kaloko-Honokohau is a new one that we didn’t explore very much but got some information on. It’s earmarked for future trips too.

We spent several sunsets at Huggos on the Rocks, our favorite Mai Tai spot for sunsets. We also had beer and lunch at another favorite, the Kona Brewing Company. We also ate at Bubba Gump’s one night, which is a tourist madhouse and very fried! It’s fun but definitely not an award winning culinary experience. We had a wonderful dinner after our Valley hike at Merriman’s Market Cafe in Waikoloa (King’s Shops) where a very talented guitarist singer covered a wide variety of songs (and made Mark long to start a band again).

We had lunch at an excellent place on our last day, Daniel Thiebaut’s in Waimea. We missed it the last time through that area, coming through after lunch hours and before dinner. This time we just made the cutoff before lunch closed. It was fantastic! I had a tuna salad that was beyond anything I can describe, and we split a piece of kona coffee cheesecake.

Our last day we spent time driving around the north part visiting the Kohala bookstore and some of the galleries in Hawi and Kapa’au. On the way back to the airport, we stopped along the highway to watch the sunset. It was very quiet and one of the best sunsets of the week.

This trip, we did not visit Kilauea, the active volcano on the island. It’s a long drive from Kona and we wanted mostly to rest and relax. We’ve visited there before and will add it again on future trips (with a night or two stay in Volcano Village).

The best books for traveling to Hawaii are the “revealed” series. They are well written, have great maps and a lot of tips on things. I have copies for Maui, the Big Island, and for Kauai, which we haven’t visited yet but hope to soon - maybe in the Fall this year. There’s one more for Oahu that I haven’t gotten yet.

Many people ask me how we manage to go to Hawaii so often. We spend less on other things and also find a lot of deals. This time we booked an airfare, hotel and car package on United Vacations. It also included breakfast every day and a little package of goodies (t-shirts, tote bag, coupons and a CD of island music. I’ve signed up for email on sales and specials from many travel sites - Hawaii.com, Cheap Tickets, Expedia, various airlines, Site 59 and more.

The Travel Gremlin

2006-01-11T21:27:00.000-07:00

Okay. Lately, something weird happens whenever both my husband and I travel somewhere together. Something on our property gets broken.

The first time was in March while we were getting married in Maui. We arrived home to find that the trash truck ran down our fence out front. It’s just a little split rail thing but it irked me they left without saying anything. The obvious green paint and marks matching the size of the large green bucket in the front of the truck. After several months, they finally replaced it.

In October, we went to Seattle for work/play. Arriving home, we found the plastic bubble over the front basement window smashed in. We couldn’t find who or what did it. It was probably one of the neighborhood cats or raccoons. There were no footprints around it so I know it wasn’t a human. We wanted to replace it with a nice metal one at some point anyway.

So just got back from our latest trip to find the UPS guy has smashed the glass in our new front door trying to deliver a package in the high wind. Our housesitter had called so we knew about it before we came home. He must have let go in a gust and it smashed into the wall opposite the door. Again, no note. But he left the package. Now I am trying to get someone to come “look at it” so we can get the process rolling. Which better be soon since we can’t get in and out the front door right now (there’s still glass everywhere).

So not sure what’s up with this. It has to be some sort of travel gremlin. I even joked with my housesitter as we left that I wondered what would be busted on my house this time...

Sigh.

2006 Resolutions

2006-01-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit.

Hey look at that -- it’s 2006 already! ‘Spose I should make some new year’s resolutions. (I know -- how original!)

1. Travel more. (Leaving on a jet plane tomorrow, in fact).
2. Related to that - get a passport already!
3. Go outside my comfort zone (got a hike along a cliff side 1,000 feet up scheduled in a week - there will be some sweaty palms but a gorgeous view and a 500 foot waterfall).
4. Lose some weight. Okay that one may be almost a cheat ‘cause I am already doing that but I’ll keep it up.
5. Do the Bolder Boulder (which I’ve done before -- race walking but should go again now that I am actually in shape for it).
6. Play more fetch and take more walks with my babies.
7. Try to be more patient and understanding of my husband who is on a completely different planet (yeah, him -- Mars, me -- Venus, I know, I know...). Packing six pairs of shorts for a week’s vacation may make sense on Mars (three are khaki green and three are khaki tan). Weird that he’s actually the one that overpacks ...
8. Edit, edit, edit. Ebay, charity, craigslist ... boxes to the MIL ... I need breathing room.
9. More projects around the house. We may be here awhile so might as well keep it from falling down! And get rid of the remaining white walls.
10. Add another human to my family.
11. Have more days off - at least one *whole* weekend a month.
12. Learn to better schedule my time (as much as I can with crazy clients and crazy project managers).
13. Change my hairstyle (since my sisters accused me of having the same on from third grade -- they apparently forgot the long bangs, shaved head, purple hair, blue tail eras of my locks.) This is kind of a cheat - I had my hair cut two days ago and it is definitely different.
14. Organize. Everything.
15. Write more often. There are children’s books in my head involving my pets’ escapades and my sister Annie’s big box of colored pencils. There are article ideas. There’s this blog. There’s a lot to say.

And with that -- Happy new year!