the pinks

i almost forgot....i got these beauties in the mail a few weeks ago.  they feel like they are made for my feet....oh wait....they are!!! 

i cannot tell you how wonderful they are, even better than my yellow ones (that i've barely used).  i can't wait for duluth!!!!  of course, they go much faster with wheels on, but you get the gist!

sludge

i've been drinking something every morning that seriously is better than coffee, energy-wise.  it's been amazing and now i don't think i can go without them.  it's this sludgy shake: 

i fully realize this is a horrid picture, but i also realize that it's a horrible looking drink.  look...it's even bubbling on the left.  and that wasn't a permanent bubble...it popped and then more formed.  it looks like something Shrek would drink.  But it's so good!  i have perfected it from the grassy mess that i made at first.  i tapered down the spinach...i just can't take three cups.  So...the final version is: 1 1/2 bananas, 1 scoop amazing grass superfood in cocoa flavor, 1 cup of spinach, 1 cup of almond milk.  blend away!!!!

the most annoying neighbor

we have lived here for 3 years now.  we have some pretty colorful neighbors and we love being here. 

except for one in particular: 

this guy seems to find it necessary to sit outside our door and sing....non-stop.  which would be fine...if he wouldn't sing the same distinctive tune.....every.....minute....of....the.....day.

he is annoying.  he doesn't seem to get it though.

courtesy of seriously bad-ass christmas present from t.  i used my 300mm zoom lens. 

update!!!

Image via Wikipedia

SO glad some of you got a chance to look at the sale! I'm very happy with my purchases...although, the skirt was not the one i thought it was, it is plain navy blue...but really? who cares?  it was $20. 

this next part will be a long-winded explanation of the interview today, but really, i have to start 6 years ago and in the end, it really has nothing to do with the interview itself.  here i go...

6 years ago, i had taken over for a school counselor when she was on maternity leave.  i did full-time work when she was gone, and when i got there, she was already gone, so i never met her before i started the job.  then, she came back after her leave and we job shared.  job sharing is tough in general, but especially so, when you are 180 degrees different from the person you are sharing with. 

before i met her, i knew that she kept her files, not in file cabinets, but stacked in various arrangements around the room.  that is all i knew.  when she came back, she took the a.m. and i took the p.m.  we saw each other for 5 minutes a day, maybe.  we WERE very different.  she had been doing the job for some time...she was married, had a baby, she was religious, and just really had very different takes on our jobs and how to perform them...nothing wrong with that.  anyway, after the year, she decided to leave and stay at home with her baby.  i interviewed for her job.  the interview was fine and was with the VP that i was used to working with, however, something was brought up about work ethic, reading and crossword puzzles. 

it took me a while, but luckily, i caught on before the end of the interview...she "somehow" thought that i was doing the latter two things, rather than working?  I backtracked in my head as to why she would think those things, as neither were true and then it hit me.  my co-counselor had provided me with a book about school counseling and bullies, that i had put in my purse for reads at home.  i also, at the time, cut out the crossword puzzle every day, and would carry it around in my purse or coat pocket with me, so that if i were waiting in line somewhere, it would be handy.  i explained both of these situations to her, and that was that.  then, i didn't get the job.  when i went into my office after hearing that i had not gotten the job, this job sharing partner made the mistake of asking if i got the job.  i told her no...she asked why did i think that i didn't and i told her about the book and crossword puzzle comments.  it was very apparent that SHE was the one who told the VP about that.  obviously, it was the end of the year, but this stung...i wanted that job more than...well, just about anything at that point.  she felt badly, i think.  it was really the only thing that could have made the decision....my work there was the best that i had done. 

fast forward to today.  i go to the interview and happen to know the girl that is at the phones.  i'm chatting with her, and lo and behold, the interviewee before me walks out of her interview.  yep...you guessed it.  Crossword lady.  

anyway, the interview went as well as it could of for someone whose only experience in elementary schools was as a social worker and not as a counselor.  that being said, if it was confusing, i did a lot of therapy with elementary school kids...this is different than being a school counselor.  we'll see.  the second step is that they are narrowing down to 2 people, then having a group of teachers interview those 2.  then choosing.  there is also a high school job that could be very good, as it's at my old high school. 

c'est la vie!!! 

have a great weekend!

quick note

on my way to my interview, but this is IMPORTANT!!!  For all of you that love skirtsports stuff, they are having a 50% off memorial day sale this weekend!  Stock up!

eternally relaxed

i get frazzled from time to time, but for the most part, i can keep it together.  i don't know what it is, if it's just the way i've grown into myself, or if its the way that i realize now that things that were so very important, just aren't so much now. 

t and i were talking this a.m. about my job search, etc.  he said something to effect of, "isn't it weird that you may be changing jobs and you're not stressed about it?" 

why, yes....yes, it is weird. 

i was talking to my friend laura, who was a school counselor when i was.  she was with me during the time that i had 10, yes 10, interviews in the same district, and never got hired there.  i have one word to categorize my life at that time....DESPARATE.  i was so desparate to have a job and thought that my life would end if i didn't get one, and on top of it, HAD to support a leech that was sucking the life out of me as well (being facetious, of course).  she also commented on my relative lack of concern about whether or not i get the job.  it's not that i'm indifferent to it, just that i know that things will turn out the way that they need to....and ultimately....it's not up to me to decide that. 

and on that note...let's throw in some Dr. D to top off the day.

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.- Wayne Dyer

It makes no sense to worry about things you have no control over because there's nothing you can do about them, and why worry about things you do control? The activity of worrying keeps you immobilized.


How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours. -Wayne Dyer

Deficiency motivation doesn't work. It will lead to a life-long pursuit of try to fix me. Learn to appreciate what you have and where and who you are. -Wayne Dyer

You get treated in life the way you teach people to treat you. -Wayne Dyer

taking it easy

i'm feeling slackerific lately.  i havent' been able to do much due to my knee, but finally went in and found out what was the issue. patellofemoral something or other.   the remedy:  physical therapy and rest for the time being. that was a relief! 

also a relief....we got t into some specialists all in one day!  he got a day off work and somehow or other, we smooshed everything into one day.  he is going to be one tired puppy after all this.  in the a.m., he'll have his allergy and asthma appointment, that we've been told will last two hours.  it will involve allergy testing, etc.  so for him, that means lots of hives on his back...no fun.  secondly, we both got into a dermatologist to check out some weird skin spots and get those taken care of.  how cute...a joint doctor's appointment! 

i have been eating incredibly well, so i'm not feeling too bad and like i said, when i'm not working out, i'm losing weight...probably muscle, but i think my legs have some to spare ;) 

lucky duck!

i love the company Skirtsports.  i think they have the best, cutest, most women-specific clothes and i love the quality as well. 

i only work out in skirts after trying them and i can't go back to anything else.  i think they are so comfortable.  last year, skirtsports had a warehouse sale in the Spring.  i went towards the tail end of the day, but got some great buys.   since that time, i'd been waiting....and waiting for the next sale. 

it happened to come and go, on a day that i was sick.  i was so sick, that i couldn't drag myself out of bed to drive the 45 minutes to go to the sale....so that sucks. 

what sucks even more, is that i've been looking for some great bike shorts that will sustain me on the MS 150 and i found them.  they were in a bike store, they were Skirtsports.....and they were $90.  Now maybe to some of you, not a big deal, but i'm on a budget here! 

needless to say, i was thrilled when i looked in my email yesterday and found 50% off on limited Skirtsports items.  and by gosh, seriously, my shorts were one of those items!  so, i got those!!!!  i've never had bike shorts with elastic on the legs and i thought i'd HATE it, but i loved them. 

i may or may not have also gotten a new running skirt for $20!!!!

great giveaway...again!

hey all, this is that powdered "superfood" that i've been using every day.  truly, the chocolate flavoring makes a HUGE difference.  i've used it in shakes and in oatmeal.  very good stuff. 

and.....here's a giveaway for everyone to enter, who wants to!

i'm off to eat mine in some oats with frozen banana yogurt!

the weekend recap

this weekend was BUSY. just the way i like it, but some things good, some things not so, but in the end, leaving you glad that you had a weekend.

• went on the friday night ride, which i've already gone over
• saturday, went to try out the new skates.  sat in the parking lot while the boys left and did their own thing.  it takes a while to get the frames adjusted to be just so on those things, i got the right one perfect....left one, still to be toyed with.
• we thought our neighbor's graduation party was saturday, but found out it was not...when we went to the said party and they were just hanging around outside.  told them we'd be back at the same time, same place tomorrow
• went home, took a nap
• decided that we would have walleye for dinner.  now, t has a fish allergy, but in the past, a very mild one....lips kind of tingle and itch.  enough to make him not eat it a lot, but not enough to keep him from trying.  we had gone to places before and he had been able to eat walleye, strangely enough.  so, we deided to try making it ourselves. 
• ended up in the ER after a few minutes of above "trying fish out" experiment, due to EXTREME fish allergy.  t looked like a red tomato by the time we got to the hospital...thank god he took a drink of benedryl before we left, i don't think he would have been around, had he not. 
• went on a 21 mile ride with sister-in-law, L.  it was awesome, see below post.
• went to a graduation party that we ended up being at for about 6 hours.  we went in the beginning, then left to get t some new bike pedals and liquor (not to be used together) and then came back to the party, til about 10. 

another side note: i got an interview this week! elementary school counselor!  cross your fingers. 

much better!

my sister-in-law took me on my second ride of the week yesterday and we'll just say, it was a VAST difference from the first one. hills, hardley any traffic and just relaxing the whole way. i didn't even feel like i've done anything today. it was awesome. i'm sure this is more of what cycling is supposed to be like. i know many of you were shocked to hear of the last ride, but for colorado being such an active state, there are huge bones of contention between motorists and cyclists. about every day, we hear a new story about a cyclist being hit by a car. my friend had told me time and time again how people are very rude when she cycles. honking, throwing things, i must say, i didn't believe her.

anyway, this ride was much different and more likely the way that it will be for our 150 miler. i'm very excited now....and may even buy some new bike shorts that i found!

here was our route yesterday!

not my thing

Image by The Rocketeer via Flickr

so, we went on an outside ride on friday night.  i'm not a fan of riding on a heavily trafficked road, or ones that have no shoulder and it just so happened that on friday, we did both.  and lived.  i will admit, by about mile 15, i was done.  it wasn't the ride that wore me out, it was dealing with the people on the road that really had me wishing that we hadn't even gone.  just as a tally....i had three bottles thrown at me and a cigarette.  REALLY??? 

it was awful.  but i'm getting back on today for a 30 miler with my sister in law.  i'm hopeful this will be better!

the dichotomy of me

i have some different tastes.  not 'different' like different from everyone else's but my likings change by the day.  I'm not that girl that is girlie all the time, needs lipgloss, and mascara on....but i like doing that from time to time.  this was never more evidenced by me as in my latest shoe shopping drooling.

i like these.  i like them because they are cute, they are functional.  if i were working in a school on lunch duty, they would allow me to run to attend to something, rather than clop along in heels.  they are made from recycled rice paper.  They are the Keen Harvest MJ.  I just discovered that they come in sandals too....the sandals are more cute and half the price. 

secondly, i like these.  i like these because they make legs look good.  enough said?  i believe these are by Frye, you know...the boot makers!

the change

in all this craziness, i have been thinking a lot about eating, but not just amounts, but how to do it well. 

i started eating more whole foods.  not the grocery store, but foods that are clean, that keep me fuller, longer.  i'm trying to differentiate what that means to me.  I'm not sure if that means no meat for me or not...i don't know how i feel about that.  we'll see, it's a work in progress. 

what i do know that i'm doing is 1.not drinking caffiene!  yay!  and 2.  replacing caffiene, i'm getting this Amazing Grass product.  it's a vegan superfood.  o.k.  i'm not "replacing" caffeine with this, but i have read so many things about this product....and not a single bad thing!  I'm going to start doing breakfast smoothies each day.  To start, they are consisting of this powder, spinach, bananas, ice, and almond milk.  pictures to follow!!!

whew!

nothing too exciting to report, hence the lack of reporting. 

apparently, i'm taking a week off from working out.  my right side of my body has officially rebelled against me and i don't want to go find out what is wrong with each individual item, so i'm resting it.  i went to the doctor to get a foot x-ray, which this shmarmy woman wouldn't do.  i believe that it's likely the walking on the foot differently that has affected my knee and my knee which has affected my " osteoarthritic hips".  i don't know why the heck my shoulder is killing me.  all this is o.k. because i haven't had time to work out anyway.  its also o.k., because i lose weight when i don't work out.  ;)

we are only 35 days away from our 150 MS ride, so that's something.  i guess i should get on my bike more...maybe get the shoe off of it that has been stuck in the pedal since saturday. 

this isn't meant to be a bitch post...things really are great, but busy.  i've had the opporutnity to apply for 10 jobs so far this week at schools.  the districts are gearing up for hiring.  two of the jobs are in a high school that i used to attend.  i would LOVE to be a counselor at a place where i had someone tell me that i "shouldn't look into attending college, she doesn't really have the skills or ability to get through something that rigorous".  i think there would be nothing more motivating than helping kids that are getting ready to make some major life decisions.  crossing fingers....

for those of you who aren't in the know....here you go

job searching is exhausting.  just in general.  you always feel like you might be missing something or something could have come up in the past two seconds since you last looked at the website to change your life as you know it. 

job searching for teaching positions, is just ridiculous, in my opinion.  i don't know how it is everywhere else, but in our neck of the woods, it is just a rigamarole of mess.  you have to fill in each district's online webpage, then you have to wait til a job is posted, then you have to send in a cover letter (changed of course, for every position) and your resume.....again, to each individual position, just to reiterate that you are interested in THAT VERY POSITION. 

so, for each job posted, you figure you are doing at least 2 hours worth of filling in your GPA for your degree, for your whole college career, etc., even though they have that information in front of them on the actual transcripts that you had to order for them. 

these are just my job searching thoughts.  take them or leave them.

the blur of the weekend

This weekend, i:

• had an HOA meeting on Friday night.  it's a fun time, i love the people on the board, so it makes for a more "bitch-fest", party-like atmosphere. 
• we waited until 9pm. to decide that spaghetti was on t's list for dinner and headed out to the store.  on the way, we found many toads in the road.  we delayed our grocery trip, as t got out each time we saw one, and moved it to the grass!  yay toads!
• saturday, t was on-call and did his duties.  i spent the time typing up HOA letters to people and sending them out....i may or may not have forgotten the attachments on them.  oops.
• we went on a leisurely bike ride....o.k....i did, while t and friend c went on a 20mph skate in the wind. 
• i found out that people don't really know what it means to have "voice-control" over their dogs.  that means, if your dog doesn't come when called (even if there is a rabbit covered in beef and chicken smells that is calling your dog's name) you do not have voice-control over your dog.  this impedes people riding on their bikes on the trail to have dogs running into their bike...especially when one's shoe may have gotten stuck forever on her bike and she couldn't get out of the bike to save her life.  just sayin'. 
• we had fondue that night
• sunday, t was still on-call, got called out and i went too.  afterwards, we went to a friend's daughter's college graduation party.  full of food and beer pong (no, not kidding), we went home and got geared up for Survivor Sunday.
• Watched the last episode of the season for Survivor, cussed at the t.v., went to bed. 

it was a fun and eventful weekend!  i did a lot of reading of a recommended site by Kate.  i take recommendations very seriously from people that i've been in touch with for a while, because i figure, they "get" me in some way.  boy oh boy, Kate hit the nail on the head with this one.  ohsheglows is one site that was meant for me at this time.  i read the crap out of this thing.  great ideas on health and being healthy and ones that are doable. 

who knew?

That Clif, as in Clif bars, made wine?????  Anyone up for trying it?  Go to Fit and Forty something giveaway!  yipee!!! happy monday!

this or that?

i do a lot of blog reading.  i would definitely consider it a hobby, if not an obsession. 

i also do a lot of reading about food, as i love it. 

Fit and Forty Something posted an interesting post this week (among many other interesting things she posted) about "swapping" out foods for other foods.  More specifically, she doen't really count calories, but instead, if she's going to have wine, she'll skip out on that piece of bread, etc. 

While this thought may not be mind-blowing to you....it was to me.  i sat there and thought for a second about how i think about food.  i have a love/hate relationship with it.  i had an eating disorder in college, as i know many people did/do.  i had treatment for it and while i'd love to say that it is a piece of me that is completely under control...it's not, but i don't think i really realized it until now.  i'd love to say that there has been a meal between now and then that i didn't think of calories in what i was eating...but there hasn't. 

What has changed is the amount of which that thought controls what i eat.  now, and for the past 15 years, i will eat whatever...but how weird is it that i know the amount of calories or at least think about that before i put anything in my mouth? 

i think it's messed up and i'm looking to change that.  there are a lot of other things that i could have in my head, rather than numbers of calories.  lots of things to think about other than that. 

my goal is to become a mindful eater, not a fanatic one. 

if you want something to make you smile

go to dooce.com's post today.  i love this picture

great giveaway!

for those of you exercise enthusiasts, or just those that want good lookin' hair, take a look at this giveaway at Racing with Babes.  It's for these really cute hair bands to hold your hair that supposedly DO NOT BUDGE!!! 

conversation of the week.

my cousin:  so, what did you do for mother's day?
me:  nothing really, my mom's in spain.
my cousin:  oh.

15 minutes later:

my cousin:"what did you do for your mom on mother's day?"
me: "nothing, because she's in Spain"
dead silence
my cousin: "oh....."
me"so we didn't do anything because she's not here"
my cousin: "oh, where is she?"
me: "she's in Spain".
my cousin: "oh, i thought you said she was INSANE"

today this....tomorrow that

we've had fantastic weather lately, minus the wind at times, it's been nice and in the 70s.  this has made me mostly happy because of this: 

AND THIS: 

isn't it amazing.  the colors and trees are in full force right now.  even at our house, our little trees are budding and have big white blooms all over.  I've been contemplating renting a plot at the community garden down the street to plant some things.  not even veggies...just flowers to take care of. 

and then....we're supposed to get 10 inches of snow tonight.  MEH!!!

this weekend...

i had to work extra late on friday doing a showing, as the 'rents are out of town, so we went out to eat.  i honestly don't know if there is anyone that enjoys going out to eat as much as me.  i know there are people that do it a lot more than us...we usually go out once a week, but i enjoy the time out so much, it almost doesn't matter where we go. 

saturday, we got our usual weekend breakfast of qdoba breakfast burritos and headed over to Home Depot.  t got things to wash the windows, mop the floors, etc.  then he got to work.  he was insane.  spent hours doing all of these things, so our house looks really nice now.  there is no gross rainbowy film on the windows anymore.  it's fantastic.  saturday night we were sitting around and got lured in by the tv.  they kept playing this mike's hard lemonade commercial, so of course, we needed to go out and get some of those. 

sunday, went to go get a second round of breakfast burritos!  went and got a memory foam pad for our bed.  i don't know if i mentioned it, but we had a bed fiasco a few months ago and since that time, t has been sleeping on the floor.  no, i'm not kidding.  we replaced his super hard bed with a MUZIK bed from Denver Mattress company.  in theory and in the store, the idea is good.  it's therapeutic tones that play through the bed....you can have headphones on or not, and you feel the vibrations of the music through the bed.  we liked the bed in the store...when we got ours, for some reason, it was so soft, both of us were in agreement, RETURN THE BED!  we got another new one.  this one was more firm, but after a night of sleeping on it, it made big divots where your body was.  not good.  at that point, t went on the floor and i kept sleeping on it regardless.  yesterday, we brought up t's old bed, put the memory foam on it, and voila....we think it may be a great bed. 

i got a phone call from a friend and went to talk to her, and by the time i was done, i couldn't find out where t was.....i found him fast asleep on the new bed.  YAY!!!! 

i had to attend an HOA meeting yesterday, as our neighborhood is in chaos.  then we happened to meander over to our neighbor's house.  we ended up on their back patio, with blue martinis in hand and the fire pit blazing at our feet! 

that was our time....how was yours? 

by the way, bob says hi

mouse

ABC thingy

A. AREA CODE : 303


B. BED SIZE: Queen.


C. CHORE YOU HATE:  cleaning bathrooms.  it's gross, there is nothing more to say about it.  i hate it so much, i'd like to stop typing about it.


D. DOG'S NAME: we don't have one.  if we did, i think it's name would be flanders.

E. ESSENTIAL "START THE DAY!" ITEM: water?  i have some on the nightstand and usually, if there's some left, i take a swig.


F. FAVORITE COLOR: yellow, white, or pink.  not together though

G. GOLD OR SILVER: i like silver better, but in all honesty, gold looks better on my yellowish skin. 

H. HEIGHT: 5' 6". Average, although it does feel "tall" at some times. 

I. INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: i played the piano.  play is somewhat of a false term there.  but, i can read music still and could pick out a song if i HAD to.  luckily, i haven't had to lately


J. Job: realtor and job searcher.  i'm looking for social work jobs to bring me back to what my degree is actually in and i think i'm much better at working with people's emotions than with people's business

K. KIDS: none.  t's job and the fact that i work does not allow for us to do this the way that we would want to.  i think the concensus is that having kids is something we would want to do right...and we just cannot.  so, instead of forcing that, we won't

L. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: a house in ft. collins, co with t, two toads, and three mice. 

N. NICKNAME: Monks, monkey, squeaky, cher, bear,

M. MOM'S NAME: do you really care about this?  no, didn't think so

O. OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: i don't think i've had one.  in fact, i know i haven't. 

P. PET PEEVE: entitlement, nonstop negativity, people trying to be politically correct and treat me with kid gloves. 

Q. QUOTE FROM A MOVIE: something to the effect of:  "i can't believe that anyone deserves you"- pride and predjudice

R. RIGHTY OR LEFTY?: right.


S. SIBLINGS: none, but i grew up living next door to three cousins.


T. TIME YOU WAKE UP: 6 a.m.

U. UNDERWEAR: I don't think I understand the question?


V. VEGGIE YOU DISLIKE: not nuts about cucumbers


W. WAYS/REASONS YOU ARE LATE: I'm not.  if i am, it's due to someone else that i'm with running late and then i'm stressed out that i'm late. 


X. XRAYS YOU'VE HAD: oh lord.  ankle, leg, hips, back, foot. 

Y. YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE:  BBQ meatballs and mashed potatoes with corn from The Pioneer Woman or Bolognese sauce from there as well

Z. ZOO ANIMALS YOU LIKE:  i'm not really a zoo person.  more of an aquarium type of girl. 

Link to your blog in the comments if you feel like playing along, or if you have already! :)

assumptions

assumptions can get us into trouble...we all know this.  i think that when you realize that, is maybe when you learn to edit yourself in life, and maybe not to blurt out whatever it is YOU assume someone else would think about a given situation. 

i had an interesting situation...having to do with age, respect, and someone just being wrong...in my opinion. 

a woman that is a very good family friend came to the office today and commented on my necklace.  she specifically asked, "where did you get the stones for that?".  i replied, "the emerald is from mom and dad on my 30th birthday, the little diamonds were bought by me, and the diamond is from my first wedding ring"  my first wedding ring, which she knew, referred to the wedding ring from my first marriage.  she interrupted me in the midst of the last part of my explanation and said, "oh, that's your payment from the worst mistake you ever made in your life?" 

i think i may have sat there with my mouth open for a split second.  i was torn between correcting this woman because she was wrong and not saying anything because she was an old family friend and maybe needed to be respected in her opinons.  i think i shook my head and started saying, "that wasn't the worst mistake i've made", when she interrupted me again and said, "don't worry, it is what it is"....as if i were explaining myself and my choices that i've made. 

it wasn't a huge deal....i'm not hugely upset about it....but i would love to know what an appropriate response would have been to that?  any ideas? 

that guy

Image via Wikipedia

dear grandpa,

you would have been 93 a couple days ago.  i don't think there was one of us that doubted that you would still be around and going strong, even at 93.  i would have bet that you would still be doing pull-ups if it weren't for that stupid illness that took you so soon.  you were the one that could do anything, fix anything, invent anything, and love anything....even us, when we weren't so lovable. 

this is the time of year, when you made your rounds to our office and delivered dahlias that you grew.  they were the size of plates.  it was just one of the few things that you gave.  in fact, i can't think of a time when you didn't come bringing gifts for people. 

i was at the bank yesterday and the lady who was the teller saw my last name and said that she knew you.  she said that you were the nicest man she'd ever met.  that when you developed the land that she lived on and she started building her house, that you delivered a tree to every person that built a house in that subdivision.  she said it was so nice and did i know that you had donated all of the land that was in that area as a thank you to the governor of Colorado for not being put in internment camps during WWII.  yes, i knew.  then a girl that was younger than me started talking about you, said that she had met you and that you were amazing.  yes...i knew. 

we miss your antics.  the fact that when you patted someone on the back, you almost sent them into the next county because you "patted" them so hard.  the fact that you strapped on a pair of rollerblades at the age of 80 and took off.  the fact that you let barbie have horses and you took in my animals when i couldn't take them to college with me.  the fact that you sent nancy's sister cow balls for a joke....every year.  the fact that you did pull-ups in your house on a homemade bar, even when you were 88.  the fact that you took off one day at the age of 80 and decided that you would climb a mountain...and did.  the fact that you sent dirty cards to one of your friends, who also has passed and his daughter will call me laughing so hard because she found a new one in his desk. 

you were important, for a number of reasons, you met and mingled with very important people...but you were important to us because you were our grandpa.  it wouldn't have mattered to us who you knew or didn't know.  amazing?  yes....we know. 

dinner tonight

we were creative....and i thought it was good!  we had this:

pasta, broccoli, black beans, corn, olives, red pepper and some sunflower seeds!!!!

Fondue friday post!!!

we had fondue friday and it was a success.  i took a few pics to show how super prepared we were for this event. 

we bought another pot that day.  thought that we could try both an oil based fondue and a broth based.  we got beef broth, wine, onions and garlic.  after that boiled down and we started running out, we just used wine.  it was EVEN BETTER!!!

we used red potatoes for some awesome "fries"

for dessert, we used this...it's a chocolate that t can eat, even though he's allergic to dairy!!! yay!!

you gotta have this too.

i left out pictures of the meat, it's not so attractive at any point and time throughout the fondue process.  in addition to this, we had zucchini, shrimp, chicken, three cuts of beef, apples, etc.  it was good!!!

texas pictures

here is a bit of my trip to Texas.

Texas roads

place where we had lunch.  it's a renovated mansion in Tyler.  it was amazing.  if it had been sunny, the patio would have been perfect. 

this is bruno, he is literally, the most calm dog i've ever met.  it was almost like he was drugged.  he was so cute

so cute, that i needed to take another picture

this is me and my grad school roommate.  ignore the fat face look i have in the picture...and the grey hair. 

this was later the same night.  i met my college friends, Sean and Chelle, Chelle's mom, and their miracle baby, Carter.  Poor boy was so tired...they had just driven home from Children's hospital in Boston that day. 

i don't know why i don't have more pictures.  i saw more people and saw some really cool things.  i, of course, have pictures of my grad school roommate's kids, but i didn't ask if she'd want them on here...so....there.