empty smith

same blog...new location

2010-06-21T18:46:00.002-06:00

Sooooooooo...

I have been doing a horrible job at keeping this blog updated. I have been doing such a bad job that I have decided to start over. Kind of. I will no longer be posting here at empty smith. But I will be posting...just some place new. I have moved my blog over to wordpress and given it a fancy new name. So from here on out if you want to read about the mundane things going on in my life you will have to go here:

www.ohpinon.wordpress.com

I hope to see you there.

update

2010-05-21T06:57:00.002-06:00

So it has been a little over a month since my last post. AND boy what a month it has been. I have so much to write about...but not right now...stay tuned for future posts. I am currently in El Paso, TX for Husband's brother's wedding. It is a little down time from my exhausting job (yup, that's right, I have a job) but so far has not been at all relaxing.

Anyway...here is a little text conversation I had with Husband yesterday. It may (or may not) shed some light on what I have been doing with myself.

Me: My whole body hurts this morning. I have bruises EVERYWHERE!

Husband: That's not good. Why are you all banged up?

M: Horses.

H: Why of course.

M: I even have bruises on the insides of my thighs from riding James.

H: (the sound of crickets)

M: Oh...and James is a horse...NOT a man.

H: HaHa! Okay...I was like WHAT?!?!?! I am happy you are working with horses again.

movin' on out

2010-04-19T21:27:00.004-06:00

Well it has been decided…I am moving back to Colorado. MOVING!!! I had already planned on going back to Colorado for the summer. Then we found out that our property manager back in Denver was getting out of the property managing business. We also found out that the renters of said property were getting out of the renting from us business. It was like the stars were aligned and I was being beckoned back to Denver. It got me thinking…did it really make sense for me to stay up here? So I drew up a little pros and cons list of staying up here:

PROS:
I already live here
Washington is pretty
IKEA
Close to water where you can see whales
Conveyor belt sushi joints
Trader Joes

CONS:
It’s not Colorado
I hate living here
Rain
No Family (well Husband has family here, none of which I have met in the 16 months I have lived here)
Higher cost of living
Rain
All my best friends are in Denver
They watch baseball inside (because of Rain)
Volcanoes
Rain
TRAFFIC
Seahawk fans
High sales tax
The price of parking down town
Oh…and did I mention the rain?

Don’t get me wrong, there are a million great things about living in western Washington. I just think that it takes a certain type of person to live up here and I am not that type of person. Plus I thought it was going to be exactly like the movie Singles and it isn’t…what a jip and where the hell is Matt Dillon? (totally kidding about that last bit with the exception of the Matt Dillon part…mmmmmm Matt Dillon). Speaking of Singles, I had Husband watch it before we moved up here and he thought it sucked. I was crushed because I have loved that movie since high school. I have done and seen a lot of cool things since coming up here. There is a part of me that is going to miss this place. But there is an even bigger part of me that needs to be back in Colorado. Mostly the part that need the support system I have back there and need so much while Husband is deployed.

So in the very near future, with the help of Liza, Jenn, and Fallon, I will be packing up and moving out. Over half of my stuff has been in storage for the past 3 yeas and I am pretty excited about having all my things unpacked and under the same roof. Organizing this move has been a major pain in the ass, but things are coming together. I have been worried about driving a big ass U-Haul cross country. Then this past weekend I caught an episode of Tori and Dean’s Home Sweet Hollywood and Tori was driving an RV. It made me feel better because I figure if Donna Martin can drive an RV then I should have no problem with a U-Haul.

Oro Grande, New Mexico

2010-04-11T14:20:00.007-06:00

Oro Grande is located at the south east tip of the White Sands Military Reservation, about half way between El Paso, TX and Alamogordo, NM. The first time we drove through Oro Grande we were heading up to the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo with Husband’s dad. The town is tiny…you know the type that if you blink you will miss it. The main drag consists of a gas station, a tavern, an RV park, a one room school house, and a post office. Set back off of the main drag are maybe 9 or 10 mobile homes. While tiny, to me it had kind of a quirky character. My kinda town.

Oro Grande was a mining town established in 1905 and was originally called Jarilla Junction due to its proximity to the Jarilla Mountains. The name was changed to Oro Grande (Big Gold) during the 1906 gold rush. The population of Oro Grande boomed to 2000 during that time, but quickly collapsed when it was found there was far less gold than expected. If you were to Google Oro Grande you would find that most sites have it listed as a ghost town.So why would a ghost town have a gas station, a tavern and a post office? That would be because Oro Grande is not a ghost town at all. While I would guess the population as less than 20 people, there are people there.

In the few seconds it took us to drive through town Husband’s dad told us that in the early 1980s they started to put in the infrastructure for Oro Grange to once again be a booming town. Ronald Reagan had this idea for the use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missles. It was loving dubbed “Star Wars”. This program would take place at White Sands Missile Range. The people who had jobs created by this program would live in Oro Grande. Well we all know how that worked out.

Anyway…like I said it was a quirky town and I wanted to take pictures of it. Even though I exclaimed that I thought it was a great little town and I that I would like to take some pictures…we didn’t stop. Coming or going. Boo! I was bummed but had a plan. I asked husband if we could detour our route north to Denver so that we could go through Oro Grande. And because he loves me and wants me to be happy he agreed. It worked out well because the light first thing in the morning was way better than the harsh desert light in the middle of the day.

Thank you Easter Bunny...BAWK BAWK

2010-04-04T11:34:00.002-06:00

My name is Melinda, I am 34 years old, and I have never taken part in an Easter egg hunt.

When I was little I had heard of this magical event called an Easter egg hunt. The Monday after Easter I would listen to my friends regaling stories of how they searched all over the yard and house for both real and plastic eggs. The plastic eggs were the best to find as they contained candy, small toys, and sometimes money. Because isn’t that what Easter is all about…plastic eggs filled with MONEY? I just felt my mom and brother rolls theirs eyes and shake their heads at that last sentence. It was a joke…I know that Easter is all about JESUS (and candy) and nothing but JESUS (and dyed eggs…and in some houses plastic eggs filled with MONEY).

As you know Husband is Latino and Latinos have a whole different twist with what one does with Easter eggs. They call them Cascarones. A cascarones is an egg that has had the insides blown out, is decorated like an Easter egg, and then filled with confetti. The Mexican tradition is to break the cascarones over the head for good luck. Husband has told me stories of him and many cousins running around his grandma’s backyard smashing eggs over each other’s heads. There is even a story about, how after a few adult beverages, the Aunts and Uncles got involved. Instead of cascarones, they used whole, raw eggs. The cascarones sound like a fun tradition, not as fun as plastic eggs filled with money, but fun nonetheless.

My family had its own Easter tradition. We did all the usual Easter stuff like dying eggs, going to church, and having ham and scalloped potatoes for dinner. Instead of the Easter Bunny hiding eggs all over the yard and the house, he hid our Easter baskets. We would wake up and run all over the house looking in every nook and cranny for those baskets. The Easter bunny did not disappoint. The amount of candy in those baskets made the best of Halloween hauls pale in comparison. Once found we would eat jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, and Cadbury crème eggs for breakfast. We would then head to church (because Easter is all about JESUS) hopped up on sugar.

As I am alone up here in Washington now, I will be spending the day with a coworker of Husband’s and her family. It is sunny right now, and if the weather holds there will be an Easter egg hunt. I am pretty excited about that. I hope those little kids are ready for some stiff competition…because I am in it to win it.

While I don’t wave my religious/spiritual beliefs around, I think it is important to take a step back to reflect on ourselves and to respect the beliefs of others. Enjoy your friends and family and the rebirth of spring. Happy Easter!

just a quick cuddle before you go

2010-03-27T02:39:00.009-06:00

I am not a cuddler…nor have I ever been a cuddler. Then I met Husband, and I became a cuddler, kinda. Husband is a human furnace. A human furnace that will sleep under all the covers, including a goose down comforter, when it is 95 degrees outside.

If you were to walk into our bedroom on any given night you would find husband on his side of the bed burrito-ed in the covers, while on my side of the bed I have kicked off all of the covers and am going into heat stroke from the heat the man laying next to me is producing.

Husband is also a member of the blanket police. It is like he has an internal alarm that goes off every time I kick my way out of the oppressive heat that is our shared bed. He senses that I am trying to drop my body temperature to that of a normal person and wakes up and pulls the blankets back up around my ears so he can continue cooking me like a Sunday roast.

While I love falling asleep next to husband, I don’t like the fact that if I get too close to him that I will end up sweating as if I had just run 3 miles. So we came up with a compromise. Instead of falling asleep in each others arms, we fall asleep holding hands. I know…we’re cute right?

Husband left for his deployment at 1 am this morning. We didn’t get a whole night together so after dinner we came home and climbed into bed and we cuddled. We only had a few hours and we spent those few hours wrapped around one another sleeping. I had never been more comfortable in my life.

home again, home again...

2010-03-22T21:33:00.007-06:00

…Jiggity Jig!

After 15 days, 9 states, and 4328 miles, we are finally home. Although we spent 5 days in El Paso and another 5 days in Denver, it felt as if we spent the entire 15 days in a vehicle. We were always on the go, doing this and that, meeting up with people. The driving to and fro was never ending.

We had a very low key time in Denver. It was a week that was all about Husband. We made sure that he got to see the people that mean the most to him. We had dinner one night with his doubles volleyball partner and her fiancé, and another night he got to play with his sand volleyball team. He had a lot of fun that night. It also made his realize just how much he missed his life in Colorado.

We got to experience typical spring time Colorado weather. March is typically Colorado’s snowiest month…and it did not disappoint. The last day we had some business to take care of in the morning and some happy hour action planned for the evening. We set out that morning in heavy snow fall with a nice side of fog. We were on our way home from our morning meeting when while going about 60 on the highway my engine quits. QUITS!

I get pulled over to the side of the road and Husband and I sit there looking at each other. Never have I been more thankful for a cell phone with 3G service. I get started on finding a tow truck to pick us up is a snow storm and Husband starts calling nearby repair shops. Now while breaking down is not lucky, we were able to get a tow in under 45 minutes, which in a snow storm is lucky. He happened to be close by, otherwise it would have been a 6 hour wait.

The bad news was that my fuel pump had gone out and it was looking like we were not going to be on the road at 6 am the next morning. The repair shop wanted to get us the truck back that night, but as the day progressed it became clear that just wasn't going to happen. Good news is that my winter driving skills are still intact and with the use of my mom's car I got us to happy hour on time. Also...I did some name dropping and was able to get a discount on the repairs.

We got on the road 6 hours late, but managed to make good time and got home exactly when we thought we would. Don’t get me wrong, I love being on vacation, but I love coming home more. Man it is going to feel so good to sleep in our own bed tonight.

Carlsbad Caverns

2010-03-15T08:33:00.004-06:00

I’m not gonna lie, when it was first suggested that we go to Carlsbad I was not all “WOOHOO let’s go to a cave”. I guess going into caves can be added to my list of irrational fears. Caves are dark, dank, and down right creepy. There are things in caves that could jump out of the darkness and onto to you. Really, what it is to keep a stalactite from dropping from the roof of the cave and impaling you…WHAT I ask you? But we went to the big cave anyway. When I say big cave I mean super giant, humongous, gargantuan cave. I knew it was big, I just didn’t know it was that BIG. And thank goodness it was so big…because this is one gal you are not going to find spelunking.

As we enter this HUGE cave, I cannot help but to wonder aloud about the odds of the ceiling falling down on us. Husband looked at me (I am guessing he looked at me as it was very dark) and said that maybe I should not be thinking like that…and while I was at it maybe I should keep my irrational fears to myself…and hows about I busy myself with snapping photos instead of trying to freak myself out.

So I snapped some photos. Well what I actually did was point my camera into the darkness and hoped I would get something worth looking at. After playing with settings and shutter speed I got a lot of dark blurry images. I also got a few really cool ones too. I loved all textures and how alive the cave felt. I have never been someplace that felt so other worldly. It was truly amazing.

All in all I was very happy with our cave excursion. I want to thank my in-laws for taking us up there. If I ever get the chance to go back I need to remember to bring a tripod, a shoe-mount flash, and maybe a macro lens. That’s not too much extra to carry a mile down into the ground is it? If the mood strikes, you can look at some of the other images I took here.

Bucket

2010-03-11T20:36:00.003-07:00

This handsome devil is named Bucket. He is a very sweet boy.

four corners

2010-03-11T07:31:00.003-07:00

I lived in Colorado for roughly 30 years. I took for granted the fact that I lived in a state that had so many beautiful places to go and things to do. Take for instance Mesa Verde, The Great Sand Dunes, and Four Corners. I had always wanted to go but never managed to make it to any of those places.

Well on our third and final day of driving Husband and I figured we could tick Four Corners off our list as it was sorta on our way south. Now if you are not familiar with what the Four Corners area is then I am betting you failed basic US geography. Anyway…Four Corners is a geographic survey point where the states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico come together. It is a popular stop for tourist because it is the only place in the United States that you can stand in four states at the same time.

I am a little excited because I love cheesy tourist traps. So I drive up the hill, make the right turn, and this is what we see…

Ummmmm…Yeah…Maybe next time. So we weren't able to stand in four states at one time. As a consolation prize the road we were in took us into and out of each of those four states in less than 20 minutes.

Arches

2010-03-10T17:26:00.007-07:00

Whenever I think about Arches National Park I think of fiery orange rocks against blue-er than blue skies…and those where the type of images I wanted capture. Needless to say I was bummed when I woke up to gray skies and rain on day two of our road trip. But you never know…the sun could come out.

We took our time and got on the road at around 8:30 am. The drive to Moab is only about 180 miles. After the marathon day of driving we had the day before it was nice to not be pressed for time. We headed south on Highway 6 and straight into a snow storm. Grumble. Living in Washington I have gotten used to shooting the grayness of rain clouds. Snow is a whole nother animal. But like I said the sun could come out…maybe.

And you know what? It did! WOOHOO!!! I was going to get the fiery orange rocks and the blue-er than blue skies.

But you know how clouds can be…they are sneaky sons of bitches and creep in when you least expect them.

As in Colorado the saying “if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes” also holds true in Utah. The further we went into the park the more the weather changed. You turn to the north you get one thing, and the south another. After 4 hours of hiking around through deep mud and snow we decided to call it a day. I was happy with the images I had shot and was in need of a beer.

On our way out of the park good ol’ Mother Nature gave us one last photo op…

If interested you can take a look at some of my favorite images here

Sneak Peak...Moab

2010-03-09T10:08:00.004-07:00

We went to Moab on our way to Texas. I have some editing to do on the images I shot but thought I would give you a quick preview.

I call it "Moab gives you the finger". Enjoy!

drive, drive, and drive some more

2010-03-06T21:47:00.003-07:00

We left the house at 4:50 this morning for the first leg of our road trip south. We had a reservation at a hotel in Orem, Utah…a mere 900 miles from our starting point. We drove though parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah that I had never been to before. There were so many things that I saw in the quick glimpse I got as we sped by at 80 mph that I wanted to stop and take pictures of. Mostly old barns…I really have a thing for old barns. While Husband supports me getting back into photography, he really does not have the patience for me getting back into photography while we are trying to drive 900 miles in a reasonable amount of time.

So only one photo was taken today and it was taken by Husband as he does not like me snapping photos while driving…go figure. This image was captured just west of the Cascades at about 6:45 this morning. Not too shabby for being taken through a cracked windshield of a vehicle traveling a tad over the posted speed limit.

We did end up getting to the hotel in a reasonable amount of time, 15 hours. That includes stopping for gas, food, and at 6 different rest stops (we drink way too much water for people on a road trip). Tomorrow is an easy drive day. We are going to Moab and Arches National Park. The weather is supposed to be crappy but I am still very excited!

Side note: After a year of driving in Washington, I cannot tell you how nice it was to be driving in the Rocky Mountains again…you know where driving at or above the speed limit and tailgating is not only the norm but is practically expected. Ahhhh…it is good to be heading home.

early signs of spring

2010-03-02T19:53:00.006-07:00

I am loving the trees up here right now. It seems with the mild weather that spring has come early. Everywhere you look you see the soft pinks and whites of cherry and plum blossoms. I went for a walk this afternoon and it was like walking in a fairytale with all the petals delicately floating down around me.

There are so many things that flower up here this time of year. I hope that with our upcoming trip that everything will still be in bloom when we get back.

La Conner, WA

2010-02-25T22:11:00.005-07:00

I have had the pleasure of meeting many of Liza’s relatives. If I were to sum up this brood in one word it would be creative. Her father was a beat poet, her sister a talented painter, and Liza herself is a talented writer. So when she said she wanted to drive up to La Conner to visit her uncle, I was game. Liza’s uncle is Fred Owens, author of the Frog Hospital blog (soon to be a book by the same name) and a contributor to the
La Conner Weekly News.

La Conner is located about an hour north of Seattle in the Skagit Valley. The Skagit Valley is most famously know for the tulip festival in the spring (it might be known for something other than the festival, but I don’t know what that would be). We met Fred at a tiny little café called Le Crema Coffee (which has the best Chai in the world…no really…the best). It had been 10 years since the last time Liza had seen her uncle so they had a lot of catching up to do. So we sat back, drank our coffee, and they did just that. We then went on a walking tour of the village of La Conner with Fred pointing out the sights, giving us a brief history lesson, and telling us funny stories. We stopped for lunch at a little deli over looking the Swinomish Channel.

Fred then took us on a driving tour of some of the local farms located along the Skagit river. We saw cows, sheep, daffodils, and cabbage. The cabbage farms up there produce seeds, not large heads of cabbage. Fred had just written an article about the farming of cabbage seeds. We learned so much about the process of farming cabbage seeds that I am confident that Liza and I now had enough knowledge that we could start our own farm.

La Conner has a lot of cute little shops and boutiques, so after we said our goodbyes to Fred we did a little window shopping and then stopped at the La Conner Brewing Company for a beer. We had a really fun day and I really enjoyed meeting Fred. He was quite the character, which I had come to expect from a member of Liza’s family. It is good to know that if I am ever up that way that I have someone to have a cup of coffee with.

a day out

2010-02-25T08:03:00.006-07:00

My oldest friend Liza has come to visit. Yesterday was her birthday so we went down town to do touristy things. I snapped a few photos while we were out.

Pluses and Minuses

2010-02-06T10:53:00.004-07:00

You know that saying “There is never a perfect time to have a baby”? That is what ran through my head as I stood in the bathroom staring at that stick waiting for a plus or a minus to appear. I could not think of a worse time for me to find out I was pregnant...you know with Husband deploying and all. This was the first pregnancy test I have taken in 10 years where I was like please, Please, PLEASE don’t be positive.

Babies. It is no secret how badly I would like to have a child. Yet no babies for me. It is not for lack of trying…believe me I have tried. I tried for years with that other guy I was married to. A woman has roughly 36 hours a month in which to get pregnant. The timing has to be pretty spot on. I was married to a guy who traveled for business and averaged only 64 days a year at home…none of which happen to be while I was ovulating. But I persisted until after two years of trying he told me he did not want kids. He told me this over the phone at 2 am while I was away on business. There is a reason I am not married to this guy anymore. Jerk.

It was during that time that I became the friend that my girlfriends did not want to tell that they were pregnant. They would allude to it and give subtle clues until I would flat out ask if they were pregnant. They would then gush that yes they were, how happy they were, and that they weren’t trying to keep it from me they just didn’t want to hurt my feelings. Blah…whatever. I am genuinely happy when I find out a girlfriend is pregnant, really I am. I might be saying ‘stupid fertile bitches’ but what I really mean is ‘I am soooooo happy for you’.

I am going to be 35 this year, and while Husband thinks we have all the time in the world, let’s face it I am not getting any younger. He does want to have kids though. He wants to be there for every part of the pregnancy, birth, and those first few months. If it turned out I was pregnant now he would miss all that. But like all those other tests taken in the past, this one came back negative. I walked out of the bathroom, gave Husband the thumbs down with a wink and a smile, and went on about my business. Even though I was relieved that the test came back negative, there is still a tiny part of me that wanted to see a plus sign.

volcanos are scary

2010-01-20T14:08:00.012-07:00

I live in a state that has these…

You know, because a little ol' mountain can go from looking like this one day…

…to looking like this the next.

And when this one decides to go all kablooy…

…they say it could cause one of these.

YIKES! Since moving here I have had to add earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis to my list of what one might call irrational fears. This list also includes tornadoes, public restrooms, touching raw chicken, and clowns (especially clowns). But let’s stick to volcanoes shall we. The town we live in is built in the path of the Osceola Mudflow (look it up) so if Mt Rainier decides to blow its top we are pretty much toast. They say there is no evidence of an imminent eruption…but that does not mean that it won’t happen.

This is the same reason I am all sorts of leery about going to Yellowstone. Sure it is beautiful, has an amazing array of wildlife, and let’s not forget about Old Faithful…and oh yeah it is also a SUPER VOLCANO. That is like a regular volcano times a gazillion. And while they say there is no evidence of an imminent eruption there either, the irrational fear kicks in that if I get anywhere near it…BLAM-O! We could then kiss a big chunk Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho goodbye. My sister and her family live in Idaho. I don’t think that I could live with the fact that me going to Yellowstone caused them to be blown up. Granted I would have been blown up too…but you get my drift.

Now here is the funny part. I am not a lover of anything having to do with science. I only took the minimum required amount of science classes in school so I could make room in my schedule for more art classes. Husband is totally into science (he went to a nerdy engineering school and everything) and once asked me if I were to choose a science-y type of job what would I choose. Do you know what I said? VOLCANOLOGY!!! My reason…because lava is sooooo cool looking and I want to take pictures of it and poke at it with sticks.

Anyway…seeing as Husband and I blew our wad on our first day in Oregon, it left us with the second day of our trip wide open. Day one was more about things I wanted to do so I left the activities of day two up to Husband. He chose going to see Mt St Helens. YEAH!!! We stopped at the visitors center first and watched the 13 minute video about the eruption…very informative. Did you know that Harry Truman was killed in the blast? At first I was like ‘wow, why weren’t we taught in school?’ One would think that learning that the 33rd president of the United States was killed by a Volcano was an interesting bit of history. Then ones' husband reminds you that Harry Truman the president died in 1972 and that the Harry Truman that was killed in the eruption was just a man that happened to have the same name of said president.

Because we were there in the winter we were not able to go up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. One of the rangers at the visitors center told us the best place to get a good look at the mountain this time of year was at the Clearwater Viewpoint. We hopped in the truck and headed in that direction. We got lucky, just a few minutes after I snapped the last photo the clouds moved in and surrounded the top of the mountain.

Husband wants to go back in the summer so we can get up close to the mountain. I figure that I got this close and nothing catastrophic happened so why not.

we went to Oregon

2010-01-19T20:55:00.013-07:00

We get told all the time about all the beautiful places to see and cool things to do in the great state of Washington. Husband had a bunch of use or lose time to use up, so we decided to take a few days in between Christmas and New Years to go to beautiful places and do cool things. We decided to drive down to the Oregon coast. When there are so many things to do here in Washington, why would we drive down to Oregon? The answer is simple…Goonies was not filmed in Washington. (Don't worry...this is not a Goonies super fan post)

It was just going to be a quick two day trip and there were only three things I wanted to do, go to Astoria and Cannon Beach (Goonies), then head down to Tillamook to eat cheese. We got to Astoria, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and drove around to see the Jail and the Walsh house. I did not take any pictures in town because I am lazy and there was no parking. Plus I mostly wanted to take pictures of the ocean.

While driving down the northern Oregon coast you will come upon a different beach every few miles. The first one we stopped at was Seaside, a fun little resort town. We were surprised to find so many people on the beach on a Monday in December. I am sure this place is crazy in the summer…and that you don’t find people dressed like this:

We then hopped back in the truck and drove down to Cannon Beach. I was excited to see Haystack Rock (yeah that’s right I was excited about seeing a rock). It was a beautiful day…warm and sunny. We spent about two hours walking on the beach, me snapping a million photos and Husband complaining about me taking so many pictures.

Back in the truck and a few more stops to look at the pretty view…

Then to Tillamook for cheese and ice cream. ROCKY ROAD!

While I never saw a cow in Tillamook, I know they are there somewhere. The whole town smells like Greeley (those from Colorado know what I am talking about). We ended up doing all the things we had planned to do over the two days in the first day. That left us with nothing to do the next day. So as we drove towards the hotel in Portland we mulled over options for the next day.

Tommorows post...Volcanos and why they scare the crap out of me!

just checking in

2010-01-16T18:44:00.002-07:00

We are half way through the month of January and I thought I might as well update the ol’ blog. You know before my mom gets on my case about how I haven’t updated in a while and she thought I was going to write about our little trip to Oregon and so forth. (The Oregon post is coming…maybe tomorrow…with pictures and everything.) It is not that I don’t have anything to write about (sorta) it is just that I have not felt like writing. Maybe because I am too busy feeling sorry for myself.

Well maybe feeling sorry for myself isn’t the right way to put it. Maybe a better way to put it is that I am full of selfish emotions. I guess that is kinda the same thing. I can’t really put into words the way I am feeling. I feel full of rage, yet empty and sad at the same time. I run through the gamut of emotions several times a day. They come and go so quickly that I don’t really deal with them, they aren’t complete emotions. I am all tied up in knots.

So what has me all frazzled? One word…Deployment. Husband’s. We have known for a while that he would be deploying. It’s not like we got a phone call saying “SURPRISE!!! You’re deploying”. But we had dates and we had a mindset for those dates. Then a few days before Christmas Husband finds out that that date has been moved up (okay so I guess it is kinda like SURPRISE!!! You’re deploying”) and all of a sudden we are on fast forward. There is so much we have to do and take care of and get in order in a much shorter amount of time.

Although I know it is happening the reality has yet to hit me. It creeps up behind me, taps me on the shoulder, and then runs away before I can turn around. Whenever we talk about serious things like getting a will in order I get all deer in the headlights and my brain makes that robot-y shut down noise. Once it starts back up I start to think about all the things he will miss out on. Birthdays, his brother’s wedding, our first anniversary, Christmas…you know all the things we should be celebrating together. I am pretty selfish about my time with Husband and it is killing me that he is going to be gone for such an extended period of time.

Okay need to wrap this up because I am starting to get weepy and I don’t feel like dealing with that right now. I just want to say that I am very proud of my husband.

2009

2009-12-31T17:39:00.004-07:00

2009 is going out the same way it came in…like a kick in the crotch. I wanted to do a cool photo montage of the past year, but what should have been easy has turned into a Herculean task. So instead you get a generic recap…

Moved to Washington
Snowiest winter in WA in 15 years
Saw the Space Needle
Lost my health insurance
Lost my job
Start looking for job
Watched the Mariners play baseball inside
Will it ever stop raining
Abe and Christy got engaged
Went to El Paso to visit family
Went to Denver to visit friends
Got engaged
Got to see the Blue Angles
Ate some salmon that didn’t make me gag
Still no job
Tracy came to visit
It stopped raining…driest summer in WA in 60 years
Hottest summer on record in WA
Got to sail on a Naval Destroyer
My sister and niece came to visit and we…
Drove Forks and…
Saw Depeche Mode
My mom and aunt came to visit
Job…nope
Jenn came to visit
Got to play with Jenn’s fancy cameras
Saw orcas in the wild
Saw the Broncos play the Seahawks
Got my own fancy camera
Developed an iPhone addiction
Went to Colorado for Jeff and Nicole’s wedding
Eloped while we where there
Met Elena in person
It started raining again
Got health insurance
Still haven’t found a job
Ran out of money
Changed my last name
Spent my first holidays away from family
Found out Husband is deploying 3 months earlier
Saw Avatar
Drove to Oregon
Saw where Goonies was filmed
Had a warm sunny day at the beach in December
Went to Tillamook and ate cheese and ice cream
Still unemployed and living in Washington

I am not sad to see the year end and am optimistic that next year will be better. But in the mean time I would just like to say that 2009 can suck it.

so much more than just a candy cane

2009-12-25T21:45:00.003-07:00

One of my favorite things to find in my stocking Christmas morning were those huge candy cane sticks. It has been years since I had one...or thought about them for that matter. I came across them in the store the other day and all the childhood memories of running down the stairs on Christmas morning to see what Santa had brought flooded back.

And because I needed to keep my sugar buzz going I would work on this thing the whole day. It was important to get it into just the right shape...you know just in case I had to shank a certain sister for getting too close to my new Barbie.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Adventures in Tamale Making ~ Part II

2009-12-24T20:23:00.004-07:00

And now I know why one gets a team together to make tamales. They are a pain is the ass to make…but so worth it. I ended up throwing the recipes out the window and winged it. I spent a good 10 hours in our tiny kitchen mixing, chopping, spreading, filling, and rolling and I got the technique down. I am glad that I don’t have to do this again until next year…the experience has left me feeling a little tired and stabby.

We are now going to watch Christmas Vacation (a Christmas Eve tradition) and I am going to drink this...

...while Husband eats these.

Oh…and I nailed Abeula Carmen’s sweet tamales. It's a Christmas Miracle!

PRESENTS!!!

2009-12-22T18:53:00.007-07:00

I just received a box full of beautifully wrapped Christmas presents from my mom. As much as I would love to tear into them now I decided to let the anticipation build…which is hard for me. So instead I stacked them in a neat pile where I would have put the tree had I put one up. Husband and I decided against gifts this year but thanks to our parents we will still have something to look forward to Christmas morning.

It took me a long time to learn to appreciate not knowing exactly what was under the tree. I like to know what is coming to me and always have to know the who, what, where, and when. You can ask Husband and Jenn about the months of planning and covert ops that go into surprising me with anything. It is like I have a sixth sense about when a present is brought into the house. I must then sniff it out and find out what it is. As a child I learned to peel the tape away from the wrapping paper so I could pull it back a bit to see what goodies were hiding underneath.

My early attempts were sloppy. So sloppy that my mom could easily see that the presents had been tampered with. In fact there was one year that she had to completely rewrap all of my presents to throw me off on Christmas morning. But in time I got better at covering my tracks. I would say that between the ages of 6-13 I always knew exactly what I was getting. Now you may say that this takes all the fun out of Christmas...but for me half the fun was the thrill of the hunt.

I recently posted this photo of us three kids sitting in front of the tree Christmas morning as my Facebook profile picture. You can see I have a present in my lap and an evil grin on my face. It is because I know that in that box is Dallas the palomino Barbie horse. And below this photo are a few of the comments made by my sister, brother, and mom. I can see that the wounds of my “detective work” are still a little fresh for my mom.

P.S. I did get over the whole snooping thing...eventually

Adventures in Tamale Making ~ Part I

2009-12-21T13:25:00.003-07:00

Tamales. Every year around Christmas time Husband tells me about how back in El Paso they would all gather at his Abuela Carmen’s house to make tamales. In most Latino families making tamales at Christmas is tradition. It is to them what the Christmas cookie is to us white folk. And like the Christmas cookie there are several different types of tamales. Husband’s Abeula makes the traditional pork tamales and she makes a sweet one too. It is the sweet one that the entire family talks about. I have never tasted one of her sweet tamales but from what I hear it is the stuff of legend.

Since Husband and I got hitched this year and don’t have any traditions of our own I decided that we should try to blend the traditions of our respective families. So on Christmas Eve we will have tamales and for Christmas dinner I will make lasagna which is my family tradition (as us Norwegians are known for our mad lasagna making skills).

So…yeah…tamales. While I have eaten many I have never attempted to make one. They are a lot of work and I always figured that I would learn to make them from Husband’s family while visiting for Christmas. That isn’t going to happen this year so I am forging into tamale making on my own. And because I am overly ambitious when it comes to food I am attempting four different kinds; two savory and two sweet. I am feeling pretty confident about three of the four as I have recipes for those. It is the third, Abeula Carmen’s sweet tamales, which have me worried.

Husband’s mom has asked for the recipe several times and has gotten ingredients, but not how much of each ingredient. Only Abeula Carmen knows that. She makes them like this…a pinch of this and a dash of that…mix it together…and voila the best tamales you have ever eaten. Easy right? So I am going to give the often imitated but never duplicated sweet tamales a go. I have a list of ingredients, no tamales making skills, and no idea what this sweet tamale is supposed to taste like…what could go wrong?

80 gazillion twinkle lights

2009-12-17T10:37:00.005-07:00

Last week Jenn posted some very cool and very trippy images she had taken of her girls last year at Zoo Lights at the Denver Zoo. It reminded me that I had a bunch of images that I took last year at Zoo Lights that I never did anything with. So because there are no original ideas left in the world I decided to steal Jenn’s idea and post some of Zoo Lights images of my own. (Thanks Jenn W00T W00T)

I had never been to Zoo Lights. It was something I talked about doing every year and then never got around to it. So last year I made sure to go because I didn’t know how long it would be until I was in Denver for Christmas again. The night Husband and I went was cold as hell…no surprise it being December in Colorado and all. I wanted to take photos but was not all that excited about taking my gloves off to do so. We walked around a bit looking at the lights and bitching about the cold. We then stopped to get a hot chocolate and were pleasantly surprised to find that for a few dollars more you could get some peppermint schnapps added. Yes please! Nothing like a few shots of liquor to take the chill out of the air.

I had been snapping a few shots here and there. Pretty basic, nothing too exciting.

Then I got this one of the dragon…

…and decided to have a little fun with my camera. The rest of my images look a little something like this:

Yeah for cold, twinkle lights, peppermint scnapps...oh and Jenn too...you know for the idea!

what a brat(wurst)

2009-12-14T22:04:00.005-07:00

It is not the Christmas items that start making their appearance on store shelves in August, or the Christmas songs played everywhere you go the day after Thanksgiving that get me feeling all Christmas-y. The thing that really gives me a jumpstart into the ol’ Christmas spirit is the Georgetown Christmas Market. And this year I MISSED IT! It is something I had done with my family for the last 30 years. At first we started going for the overall Christmas experience; the outdoor European market, roasted chestnuts and hot apple cider, St Nicholas, and horse drawn wagon rides all set against the quaint backdrop of a historic mountain mining town. Sure all that stuff is nice…but in the end we went every year for the brats.

I am not going to go so far as to say I am a brat connoisseur, but my family is from Wisconsin and brats seemed to be the only meat that made it on to the grill in the summer. I am not talking Johnsonville here…I am talking fresh sausage made by that old German guy who had a deli counter in back of the PDQ in Waukesha. That being said I think it is fair to say that the ones we get in Georgetown are hands down the best. The booth that sells the brats is run by a Catholic church out of Denver…and those Catholics know how to make a kickass brat. It does not get much better than a veal brat boiled in beer and onions, then tossed on the grill for a few seconds to give them a touch of color, served on a pumpernickel bun with sauerkraut and spicy brown mustard (insert drooling noise that Homer does here). Totally worth the 50 mile drive.

After 20 years of asking we finally got them to tell us where they got the brats. Even though I could now go and buy the brats anytime I never did. Somehow it would take away from how special the Christmas market ones are. Having to wait all year makes them taste that much better. So if I seem a little bah humbug this year it is because I did not get my brat fix that kicks off the holiday season.

Favorite things: The Bathrobe

2009-12-10T11:02:00.010-07:00

This is my bathrobe. It is just a plain old white terrycloth robe…and I LOVE IT!

I was talking to my mom this morning about Christmas gift ideas and she tells me about this bathrobe she was thinking about getting me. She was going on about how soft it was when I cut her short and asked why she thought I would want a new bathrobe. She replied “well Melinda take a look at the one you have”. Sigh. This is not the first time I have had this conversation about “The Bathrobe”.

It was a Christmas gift from my mother. Other than my frequent requests for a pony, I usually ask for practical gifts. Other than socks and underwear I cannot think of a gift more practical than a bathrobe. So in 1992 I got a white terrycloth bathrobe for Christmas…and it was PERFECT. I have worn it everyday since for the last 17 years.

I am not well versed in the lifespan of a bathrobe, but for what I am told mine is way past its prime and it is time for a new one. About six years ago my ex-husband went so far as to by me this bathrobe from Hammacher Schlemmer. I will say it was a very nice bathrobe…I mean it should be as it costs $120. I treated it the way I treated most things I did not think I needed. I shunned it. I had a perfectly good robe why did I need a new one that weighed 45lbs? That was one thing I had no problem letting him keep when we got divorced.

Now granted my bathrobe has seen better days. There is a hole in the back of the neck where it hangs…

While the right pocket is fine…

The left one not so much.

It is worn in a few spots.

And maybe it has become a bit thin.

Like I said; I love it. 17 years is not so old when you really think about it. Maybe once it hits 20 I will think about getting a new one…but I doubt it.

squeezed

2009-12-02T21:57:00.002-07:00

For the most part Husband is very easy to live with. He is clean, manages to get his clothes into the hamper, puts the toilet seat down, and doesn’t snore too much. There is only one thing that he does that really bugs the crap out of me. Husband is a middle of the tube tooth paste squeezer. For the past year I have tried to break him of this but to no avail. In the grand scheme of things this is a small issue…but it drives me crazy. Like want to stab his face off crazy.

I know that when I walk into our bathroom tonight to brush my teeth there is going to be a big ol’ dent in the middle of tube with the tooth paste squished to either side. Chances are that Husband will already be snuggled into bed so I will have to make a big show of squeezing the tooth paste back towards the tip of the tube…you know just to show him for the millionth time how it is done. He will then give me one of his ‘Dios mio woman you are LOCO’ looks. This one implies ‘give it up because no matter how many times you do that I am always going to squeeze the tooth paste from the middle’.

under da sea

2009-11-30T12:42:00.005-07:00

More like things from the sea in an aquarium. Husband and I went to the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium a few weeks ago. It was the first time I had been to a zoo that did not have giraffes, lions, hippos, zebras, and rhinos. There was also a serious lack of monkeys…I mean come on who doesn’t love monkeys? They do however have some pretty cool aquariums including a large shark tank. I am just getting around to editing what I shot and am rather fond of these jellyfish and anemone.

thnxgving

2009-11-26T18:50:00.003-07:00

The meal has been eaten and the leftovers are stored away. I am sitting here with a glass of wine watching the Broncos play the Giants. It has been a nice relaxing day of cooking and watching football. Just me and Husband. This is my first Thanksgiving spent away from family. It has me feeling a little sad and a little guilty. Now that all three of us kids live out of state my mom was alone today. When I spoke to her today she told she is okay and I should not feel guilty…but I can’t help it. We were also invited to Husband’s brother house with the rest of his family. We so wanted to go but flights from Seattle to Dallas were ridiculously expensive. Again the guilty feeling creeps in.

I have grown so used to having a house full of people and I am really missing that this year. It felt weird to cook the traditional Thanksgiving dinner for just the two of us. I guess it would have been even weirder not to. I made our favorite things and did it the way my mom would. If I can’t be with her at least I can carry on her traditions. Tomorrow we will cook up the leftovers with a Mexican twist to carry on Husband’s family traditions.

It has been a trying year for Husband and I. We have a lot to be thankful for. You know…a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, clothes on our backs, and all that jazz. Mostly I am thankful that we have had each other to lean on these last 12 months. Our relationship has been one of the only things that we have not had to worry about. It is good to know that even if we have nothing else that we will always have each other. It makes all the crap that life throws at us a little more bearable.

Okay…I am done being sentimental and am going to go have some pie. Mmmmmmmmm pie!

more cupcakes...these ones are pink

2009-11-22T20:33:00.005-07:00

Today felt like a good day to make cupcakes. I found a recipe for pink champagne cupcakes a while back and had been wanting to give it a go. It is a pretty straight forward recipe so I was not anticipating any issues. I ran out this morning to get the ingredients one of them of course being pink champagne. The store did not have the kind that I wanted so I buy a brand I am unfamiliar with. The recipe only called for 2 cups and I am hoping it is drinkable because I am going to end up to drinking the rest of it. Lucky for me the bottle decided that that would not be necessary.

I have opened hundreds of champagne bottles with nary a problem. While in my possession this bottle took a five minute car ride and spent the next two hours sitting on the counter in the kitchen. So I’m a mixin’ and a beatin’ all the cupcake stuff together and I get to the ‘alternately add flour and champagne’ part. I turn and grab the champagne bottle, tear off the foil, and while grasping the neck of the bottle with my left hand I apply pressure to the cork with my right thumb.

Now normally this is when the cork comes out with a loud pop and no geyser of bubbly goodness. But today I got that geyser of bubbly goodness…the one that sprays 80% of the kitchen and over the bar into the living room while I yell “SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!” and leaves me with just under the 2 cups needed to make these damn cupcakes. Sigh. So after a half hour of clean up I get on with the cupcake baking. They turned out pretty tasty and are a nice shade of pink. I hand colored the sparkly sugar on top…that was a pain in the ass.

blustery

2009-11-20T11:41:00.001-07:00

I used to really like that word. It is a word that Winnie the Pooh would use if he were to write a weather report. Now it is a word I heard everyday from the King5 weatherman. In the true sense of the word most days are blustery up here. Wind and rain are big news this time of year. The blustery weather is wreaking havoc on old trees and old power lines. City crews are working around the clock to cut down the old trees and sure up the 65 year old poles that hold up the power lines. It is a good thing because a little gust of wind seems to send both toppling over onto houses.

If a little bit of rain causes so much damage…I am terrified of what happens in the event of snow. The city has a small fleet of snow plows and they have been practicing plowing and snow removal. From what I saw on the news “practicing” equals driving around at night in the plow trucks. I am confident that all that practice will pay off when and if we get another storm like last year (wink wink). I am hoping we do get some snow though. While looking for something under the bed in spare bedroom I found my snow boots. They looked lonely and sad. Had we still been in Colorado I would have already had two big snowstorms to stomp around in. Who knows…maybe I will get to wear them.

sunny

2009-11-05T12:36:00.004-07:00

With the vibrant colored fall leaves and the plethora of spring flowers one is tricked into thinking there are four seasons here. But it is exactly that...A TRICK! There are three beautiful months known as summer and nine long, dreary, wet months known as rain. And right on cue with the time change it appears that my Seasonal Affective Disorder has kicked in. WOOHOO! The last week or so I have been out of sorts and a little hard to be around. Stressed out, depressed, and short tempered is not a good mix. Lucky for me husband is very patient and is not yet to the point of wanting to smother me in my sleep. Last spring he bought me this little Swarovski Crystal bear as a little bit of sunshine on rainy days. A little bit on “sunshine” is exactly what I could use right now.

GOOSE!

2009-11-01T17:58:00.003-07:00

I am not sure how we got on the topic...

Husband: There is one animal that is the worst when it gets cornered.

Me: Oh yeah...

H: Yeah...I think it is the goose.

M: A goose?

H: Yeah.

M: Geese are pretty mean...but I think you could take one down with a swift kick or something. Are you thinking of maybe a mongoose or a badger?

H: No. Why are you laughing so hard?

M: I am just picturing you getting attacked by a goose.

Snow Day

2009-10-29T08:17:00.006-06:00

It is dumping in Colorado…DUMPING! So much snow that it has made the news up here. Seeing those reports and reading my friend’s statuses on Facebook really have me homesick. As most know I can take or leave snow in most cases but as I have mentioned here before I LOVE a huge snowstorm. Now some of you may be thinking that late October is too early for a blizzard but we are talking Colorado here. Anyone who has lived there most of their life kind of expect this type of storm this close to Halloween. We are a people who grew up planning our Halloween costumes around our snowsuits.

I love the anticipation of it. You hear about it on the news a day or two ahead of the storm. The prediction of amounts are higher than usual…maybe 12”. But as the storm draws closer the amounts grow higher 16-20”. I would always find myself hoping for more. Once there was more than 10” of snow on the ground I would head to the store for supplies. The makings for hearty soups or chili, hot chocolate, and brownies. All the good stuff needed for a snow day at home.

My favorite storm over the last 5 years happened in March 2004. March happens to be Colorado’s snowiest month. The storm hit on a Tuesday morning and by noon I closed the office and sent everyone home. An hour later I arrived home to a 4 foot drift in my driveway which you can see in the center of the picture below. My driveway was a little over 75 feet long and I had to shovel away all that snow before I was able to get the Xterra into the garage. Why not just plow right through it like you see in all the winter SUV commercials? I thought about it…but did not have enough space to get up enough speed to plow through 4 feet of heavy wet March snow.

We got 36” of snow that day; all of which I had to shovel alone. I awoke the next morning to 24” of more snow. Back into the snow gear and back out to shovel. I missed 3 days of work and had my faithful companion Murphy by my side. The Murph loved the snow. She spent the hours I spent shoveling hopping through the snow and chasing snowballs thrown by the neighbor kids. Damn I miss that dog! So to my friends in Colorado I hope you are enjoying the snow day.

Elena

2009-10-28T16:22:00.004-06:00

This sassy cowgirl is my friend Elena.

I met her online as we share a mutual love for poking fun at Jenn...the same way she and Jenn love poking fun at me. It is a vicious circle really. It took a triple dog dare; but I finally got to meet her face to face last time I was in Denver. She is an amazing woman and an amazing writer. She has started a new blog. She also happens to be hilarious so if you are in the mood for something clever I think you should check her out.

big three four

2009-10-27T16:30:00.006-06:00

Today is my birthday. Seeing as Husband does not bake and I am too much of a snob for store bought cake I made myself some cupcakes. Usually I bake a red velvet cake but this year was in the mood for something new and went with coconut. I used this recipe and they taste like Heaven exploded in your mouth. Okay so maybe not really but with the amount of butter and sugar in these babies they taste really really good. They may not be waistline friendly but it is my birthday and my diet can suck it.

more than yellow

2009-10-22T17:24:00.009-06:00

I was reading my friend Rachel’s blog this morning and she mentions in one of her posts that autumn is one of her favorite seasons. She now lives in Colorado where fall looks mostly like this. In Colorado it is not so much fall colors as fall color. Yellow…and a whole lot of it. Now don’t get me wrong…I love the falls in Colorado. Seeing a grove of aspen trees turn gold against a backdrop of evergreens is a beautiful sight. Rachel was born and raised in Seattle and is used to a few more autumnal colors and after spending my first fall season in the Pacific Northwest I can understand why she longs for a little more.

The colors up here are breath taking. You have your yellow but there are also reds, oranges, purples, and pink (yes pink). So I grabbed my camera and took a little walk around the neighborhood and snapped a few photos of the changing leaves. Rachel I know it is not the same as being here to see them yourself but I hope you enjoy the colors!

takin' pictures

2009-10-15T11:37:00.006-06:00

The thing I wanted to be most when I was little was a Solid Gold Dancer. I could not think of any thing cooler. Those skin tight outfits, big hair, high heels and legwarmers…oooooh leg warmers. Dancing around with hunky bare chested guys was also a plus (a big one). But alas Solid Gold was cancelled and I had to choose a new dream. The first semester on my freshman year of high school I took the Photo I class. It seemed like a fun class that would not take much effort. So borrowed my mom’s Canon AE1 and I went about the class with that attitude and I did not do well. The teacher had a little chat with me at the end of the semester. She told me that she could tell that I half assed my way through the class and thought that I could do better. I took the class again the following semester. I opened my eyes and put a lot of thought and effort into the images I wanted to produce.

I found that I loved photography…and I was good at it. For a better part of a decade I never went anywhere without my camera and I spent as much time in the dark room as I could. I had a good eye and there was not one thing I did not love about the process. Most of the money I made in my crappy part time job went to pay for film and paper. I knew this was what I wanted to do as a career. I worked hard and built a strong portfolio. The School of Visual Arts in New York City and the Institute of Art Chicago wanted me to come to their schools…and I wanted to go. But I got distracted. Now I can’t remember by exactly who or what but it caused me to put my camera down.

I think I was somewhere in my mid-twenties when Jenn went back to school for photography. She would show me her work and would sit there thinking “I can do that. Why am I not doing that? I should start shooting again. I SHOULD GO TO SCHOOL!” Then I would find a 101 lame excuses of why I can’t or blah blah blah I suck. But I did pick up my camera again. I was traveling quite a bit at the time and was snap snap snapping away. I came home from one two week trip in the UK having shot 23 rolls of film. Again I got all caught up and put my camera down. Then everything went digital. I had a new excuse…I could not afford the camera I wanted. “I would totally get back into photography if only I could afford the camera I wanted”. I have had several point and shoot jobbies and would get a good image here and there, but that never stopped me from bitching about if only I had a better camera. If only…

Jenn came out to visit in August and let me shoot with her Canon 20D. I started to fall in love again. I wanted one! Then out of the blue I get an email from Jenn that one of her friends is selling a barely used 20D with a lens for next to nothing. I get all excited and contact the friend and then sit back and wait to hear the camera is mine…ALL MINE BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! The response I got was not the one I expected. Someone had beaten me to it by 10 minutes. 10 MINUTES!!! I was crushed. Husband was there when I found out I had missed out on the opportunity and saw how upset I was. He did his best to comfort me. Little did I know that he was hiding something up his sleeve.

Turns out ol’ Husband was once again in cahoots with Jenn on a little Melinda sneak attack. About two weeks later while on the way home from the gym I get an urgent text from husband that FedEx is on the way to our house with our new phones and I was to rush home to sign for them. I pull into our neighborhood and see the FedEx man on his way out. I flag him down and as he hands me the box he asks if it’s anything fun. I tell him its new phones to which he respond he does not think so. I look down at the label and it is from Jenn. WTF?!?! I rush inside and call Husband to ask him what is in the box. He tells me to open it…and sitting inside is the 20D. Turns out that Husband was the one to buy it out from under me as an early birthday present. What a sweet, giving, loving Mr Sneaky Pants. He wanted me to have it in time for our trip to Colorado for a friends wedding.

I am having a fun time getting used to the camera. It is so different from what I am used to. Are there nicer cameras out there…sure there are. But I am off to a good start. I am finding that I am a bit rusty (understatement) and am not sure what my point of view is yet. I took over 645 pictures last weekend of which I maybe like 20. I did manage to get one image that I think really captured the intimacy of the moment. I think I may be off to a good start.

Married? Married!

2009-10-14T12:18:00.007-06:00

Elope
Pronunciation: \i-ˈlōp\
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Form(s): eloped; elop·ing
Etymology: Anglo-French aloper, esloper to abduct, run away
Date: 1628
1 : to slip away
2 : to run away secretly with the intention of getting married

Yeah...sooooooo...there you have it. Husband (aka Fiance, aka Boyfriend) and I got married last Friday, October 9th 2009 at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Golden, Colorado. There was no fan fare and we both wore jeans. There were maybe five people that knew what we were up to. In a way we wanted to have it be something that was between just the two if us, and the lady that took our money, and well Jenn cuz she was there too snapping photos, but really it was just a moment for me and him. I got myself a good man and a cool new last name with one of those little squiggle things above one of the n's.

Oh...and mark your calender for June 25th 2011 because we are going to have one hell of a party when Husband get back from doing things overseas that I am not allowed to talk about.

iPhone camerabag app

2009-10-03T13:13:00.017-06:00

About a month ago Jenn sent me this link to a story by Melissa Lyttle, a photojournalist out of Florida. All the photos in the story were taken with her iPhone using the Helga filter in the Camerabag App. The Helga filter mimics the vignetting, blur, light leaks, and other distortions found in photos taken with the cheaply made Holga cameras. I loved the way the images Melissa used for the story looked and decided if and when I got an iPhone that this would be the first app I got. Well as it turns out Fiancé’s cell phone died this week which resulted in us combining our cell phone accounts and him getting a new BlackBerry and me a new iPhone.

These images are nothing special and are a little out of focus (I know) but are just used to show how the image changes when the different filters in the Camerabag app are applied.

Original:

Helga:

Lolo:

Magazine:

Mono:

1962:

1974:

Cinema:

Infared:

Fisheye:

I can see the possibilities to have a lot of fun with this. The only thing I am disappointed about is that there is supposed to be an “Instant” filter that takes Polaroid style photos that isn’t there. Between all the photography apps and the Canon 20D (more on this in a future post) Fiancé got me as an early birthday present I foresee a whole lot of picture taking.

UPDATE:

Turns out that Instant is there and I just had to go into the menu and turn it on. Not sure why it was the only one turned off but matters not. Here it is…

Instant:

Thank you to @jcpretro for pointing that out to me! Also found out you can layer the filters. Head is exploding with ideas.

old

2009-09-21T14:11:00.004-06:00

There is a little boy that lives across the way from us named Antonio. Fiancé has taken to calling him Scooter Dude because every time we see him he is zipping around on one of those razor scooters. Whenever I see him outside I will wave or say hi and in return he ignores me. Now when he sees Fiancé, well that is a different story. Antonio will wave back or give Fiancé that head nod that says “hey what’s up”. They also have this little call and answer whistle game they play (it is cute and annoying all at the came time). I don’t get why this kid will not give me the time of day. When I pointed out the difference in which Antonio responds to us Fiancé says it is because he and Antonio are both Latino and Latinos stick together. Whatever.

So the other day I went out to run some errands. Antonio is outside playing with a couple of his little friends and when he sees me walking to my truck he gets all excited and I hear him say “Hey guys you might get to meet my friend I was telling you about”. I smile because I know he is talking about Fiancé. One of his friends asks where he is and Antonio says “I dunno he is usually with that lady” to which the friend asks “Oh...so is that your friend’s mom?”

Uhhhhhh…WHAT?!?!

I know they are a bunch of six year olds but I could not help but be offended that they thought I was old enough to be Fiancé’s mom. I mean I am a year and a half younger than he is. So I sat there for a second feeling sorry for myself because a couple of little kids basically just called me old. Then I come to the realization that his little friends probably have no idea that Fiancé is an adult. I bet they think that he is Antonio’s age and it is not so far a stretch for me to be the mom of a six year old…or at least that is what I am telling myself.

bitches

2009-09-12T23:18:00.002-06:00

10:14pm Melinda: look at us being all passive aggressive

10:14pm Jenn: I am SO proud! we are such bitches! We ARE the bitches we bitch about!

10:16pm Melinda: yes...yes we are

a whale of a fish story

2009-08-25T08:36:00.005-06:00

My friend Jenn from Denver has been staying with us for the last couple of days. We have been all over the place taking photos. Yesterday we drove up to Edmonds to take the ferry across the sound to Kingston. One of her friends had told her about a lighthouse not too far from there at Point No Point. So we arrive at the lighthouse and decide to kind of scope things out before we pull out all the gear. We take a little walk on the beach and don't do much scoping...but Jenn found a handful of cool shells and I found a lot of sea glass. as we turn to head back for gear my phone rings. While in the process up answering my phone I look up and see 4 dark grey tales slip back into the water about 20 feet from the shore. At first because they are so close I think dolphins and then they pop back up with black and white heads. ORCAS! So instead of saying hello to my mom who has just called me I yell "WHALES! THERE ARE WHALES! WHALES!!!!! CALL ME BACK!"

Two adult females and 2 calves. And it figures that all of the cameras are in my truck. So we rush to take a few shots with our phones and both got a lovely shot of them submerging that really doesn't show anything. We asked a few other people who did have cameras if they got any good shots; but in the excitement what they captured was a what looked like fins and with a hint of black and white. There were fishermen that had waded out about 10 feet from shore in hopes of catching salmon. The whales popped up about 10 feet from the end of one guy's pole and he nearly had a heart attack. Another told us that in 20 years of fishing that spot he had never seen anything like that. I would have to say that that was the coolest things I have ever seen. As much as I hate living up here I will venture to say it was worth the move just to see those whales. Now we have to get Roman to see some whales so that we can move away from here already.

Fiance plays baseball

2009-08-19T09:31:00.003-06:00

And I think thats hot.

I just can't get enough

2009-08-18T13:28:00.008-06:00

Nineteen years ago when I was 14 I saw Depeche Mode for the first time with my sister at Red Rocks. Last week we took my 13 year old niece to see Depeche Mode here in Seattle.

I have seen close to a hundred different bands live and have seen some really good shows. I am going to have to say that this was one of my favorites because I got to see it through the eyes of my niece and it was like taking a step back in time.

Very cool.

the best thing to happen to Forks, WA

2009-08-13T14:09:00.012-06:00

I like a good vampire story as much as the next guy. I loved the movie Lost Boys and I own (yes own) all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I never read any of the Anne Rice vampire books, but did see Interview with a Vampire. And even though I had not read the books I still could not buy Tom Cruise as Lestat. Brad Pitt as Louis on the other hand…now that is a hot vampire. The Twilight Saga was first brought to my attention a few years ago by my friend Theresa; the same person who got me hooked on Buffy. She had read the first two and was reading the third. She outlined the story for me and it sounded interesting. I thought maybe I would stop by the bookstore and pick up Twilight. When Theresa told me I would have to look for them in the young adult section I heard the squealing of breaks in my head and thought maybe not. As of this last spring I believe I was the only female I knew who had not read these books.

Friend: “Have you read Twilight?”
Me: “No”.
Friend: “What? They are the best books EVER in the history of books. Such a romantic love story and they get pretty steamy”.
Me: “Steamy…how can that be…they are books written for tweenagers…and isn’t Stephenie Meyer a Mormon”?
Friend: “Oh…but they are soooooooooooooo good!!!”

No matter how hard I was pressured I could not bring myself to read a bunch of books written for 13 year old girls. I was standing my ground firmly and was not going to give in to reading them. EVER! Then my sister Rebecca called and asked if I wanted to see Depeche Mode in August. What does seeing Depeche Mode have to do with Twilight you ask? Well nothing really. It just meant that the show was in Seattle, which is in Washington. You know what else is in Washington? Forks…the town in which the Twilight saga is based. My 13 year old niece Amarah would be accompanying my sister to Washington. She had read all the books, is Twilight crazy, she loves Edward Cullen and she wanted to go to Forks. My sister had also read them and was up for it. Hmmmm…maybe I would have to read at least the first book to see what all the craziness is about.

Fiance and I went down to El Paso the next week to visit with family. My future sister in law Christy had just started reading Twilight and was discussing it with my future mother in law Lupe. Lupe had read all four books and had loved them. She offered them to me and at first I politely declined. But as the week wore on and the conversations continued my curiosity got the best of me. I picked up that first book and read the first hundred pages. It was okay, the story moved along slowly but it was keeping my interest. Upon my departure Lupe gave me the first 3 books. I would have to buy the fourth book as she had given that one to Christy, who could not check it out from the library at the school she taught at because of sexual content. So over the course of the next four weeks I read the four books of the Twilight saga. My official opinion of the books…MEH. Yeah that’s right I said MEH! I had been duped. I read 2560 pages waiting for it to get good. They all said it was good, when does it get good?!?!? Oh…and that steamy sexual content...it’s implied…no actual sex. Every time I would get frustrated with the story line I would have to remind myself that these books are written for 13 year old girls and not the adult women that are so ga-ga over them. But I digress.

And because I am a good Auntie, this past Saturday we hopped into my SUV for the four hour drive to Forks. Amarah’s excitement started to build as we drove through Port Angeles, the town where Edward saves Bella from the near do well bad guys and takes her for mushroom ravioli. 54 miles and a scenic drive along Crescent Lake (very pretty) in the Olympic National Park later we rolled into Forks. We pulled along side the road with about 20 other vehicles to take pictures of the Welcome to Forks sign. As soon as Amarah was out of the truck she let out an excited, girlish squeal. We had to wait a short line before she was able to go up and stand in front of the sign. I took pictures for the teenage girls in front of us and upon seeing them they thanked me with a swirl or screams and giggles. This was just a small taste of what was to follow once we got into town.

There is an actual Twilight tour that you can take out of Port Angeles for about $40 per person. We figured with Forks being such a small town that we could find our way around. Everyone in this town, and I mean everyone is finding a way to cash in on the whole Twilight mania. You cannot walk into a business without there being some sort of Twilight angle. The Ace Hardware for instance has a put up a sign that says Newton’s Sporting Goods and you can go inside to have your picture taken in Bella’s work smock. So we drove around town and hit some of the main attractions. Amarah did not want to see any of the houses that they were trying to pass off and the Swan’s and the Cullen’s because in her words they were ghetto. We started off at the visitor’s center where Bella’s truck is parked.

While not the same make or model described in the book, it is red and that is enough for most Twihards. (yes that is Fiance you see in the back ground. I forced him to come along for this unique experience). Next stop was the High School...

Then on to the police department…

and the Hospital...

We then walked up and down the main drag and wandered in and out of stores. There is one store that is dedicated to all things Twilight which was jam packed with fans and more Twilight crap than you could shake a stick at. Fiance and I did a quick look around and then sat back to watch the pandemonium. Amarah purchased a New Moon poster and some mints that said Mrs. Cullen. As they were checking Rebecca commented to the girl ringing them up how crazy it must be in town on the weekends. She replied by saying it was crazy in town all the time. It will die down a little once school starts but ramp up again once the New Moon movie is released. And you know what that means….more $$$!!!

planter boxes outside the Twilight store

By this point we were starving and had lunch at the Forks Coffee Shop. I wish I had taken pictures of this place…it was a hole. I don’t think that any repairs or updates have been made to this place in…well ever. Don’t let the pictures on the website fool you. While the food was good you can tell that the prices have gone up along with the number of people coming through town. After lunch we headed south to La Push home of the Quileute Tribe (and Jacob Black) to see First Beach. Once Crossing the Treaty Line (ha ha) the drive to the beach is beautiful.

The weather was less than ideal for a day at the beach but it did not take away from the beauty of it. I would say that First Beach made the whole trip worth the drive.

From La Push we headed the four hours home. It was an interesting experience to say the least. We had a good day and it way kind of cool to experience something that my niece is really into. Oh…and for the record…Team Jacob!!!

another boat, salmon, and blue angels

2009-08-06T10:11:00.015-06:00

NOTE: This post was originally written on Aug 6th. I had spent an hour uploading photos, writing witty content, and cursing because I could not get the photos to space evenly. After much ado I got everything lined up to my liking and clicked publish. Instead of publishing the post that I had worked so hard on, blogger deleted 99.9% of my post and only the title appeared online. F*#@, F*#@, F*#@!!!!!! So after a bit of a cooling down period and 4 day visit from my sister and a 2 day visit from my mom and auntie I have decided to give it another go. (keeping my fingers crossed)

Ever since we moved up here Fiance has been talking about going to be the Blue Angels at Seafair. Fiance will find any reason to see them perform and once flew us down to Dallas for that very reason. In the weeks leading up to Seafair he talked about it more and more and had staked out the location we would be watching them from. It would be crowded but would be good for viewing the show. The week before his birthday I was looking it to whale watching tours and was on the Argosy website and saw that they had a Blue Angels lunch cruise. Taking a boat ride to the middle of Lake Washington to watch the show seemed like a no brainer.

So on Saturday we drove up to Kirkland to hop on the boat.

We were shown to a nice table near the windows where we ordered a few mojitos and settled in for the 3 hour tour (no Gilligan jokes please).

We set sail, sipped our cool drinks in the air conditioned cabin, and watched the speed boat racing to the middle of the lake to find a good viewing spot. Then it was time for lunch which consisted of several types of salads, three cheese ravioli, a chicken marsala-esque dish, and salmon.

Yes…that is salmon on my plate. Anyone that knows me knows I am not a fan of salmon. That is usually something I keep to myself; because when you tell someone you don’t like salmon they look at you like you just said “I don’t like getting massages” or “I kick puppies”. I have tried to like salmon. I have had it grilled, smoked, poached, baked, and in sushi (I don’t mind it so much in sushi anymore). Every time Fiance orders it he puts a little on my plate in hopes that maybe just maybe I will like it this time. Nope…too fishy. So as I stood there hovering over the large plate of salmon fillets I decided that I would try it again for the last time. If I did not like it this go around I was done. I took the smallest piece I could find and returned to the table. Fiance was surprised to see that salmon on my plate and held his breath as I took that first bite. This time I did not hate it. Turns out in order for me to like salmon it has to be over cooked and flavorless. But I look at it this way…Fiance ate his steak well done when we met and after 3 years I have him eating it medium rare. So maybe in a few years I will be able to eat a properly cooked piece of salmon. Baby steps.

After lunch we went up to the third deck to wait for the show to start. We were surrounded by hundreds of speed boats filled with bathing suit clad, sunburned drunk people. As always the performance started with Fat Albert. We did not get to see the jet -assisted takeoff (JATO) this time, but it was cool to see the C-130T Hercules.

Then came the main attraction.

(low altitude fly by...temprarily lost partial hearing in left ear from the roar of the engines)

I think I got some pretty good shots considering I was standing on a rocking boat after having 4 heavily poured mojitos and a corona. The show lasted about 45 minutes and as soon as it ended all the speed boats turned and raced back to their docks. We returned to our table and had dessert on our way back to the dock. It was a good way to spend the afternoon. I know Fiance is already looking forward to seeing the Blue Angels again soon.

boat trip

2009-07-30T23:44:00.020-06:00

A few weeks ago Fiance told me that he had submitted an application for us to take a ride on a Navy destroyer. If selected we would get to take a 3-5 hour cruise that would take place during Fleet Week which is the kick off of Seafair weekend and is a pretty big deal up here. Much to Fiance's excitement we were selected and would be riding on the USS Momsen.

History Lesson I:

The USS Momsen is the twenty-sixth destroyer of the Arleigh Burke class and is named for Vice Admiral Charles B. Momsen. The USS Momsen's keel was laid on 16 November 2001 and was launched on 19 July 2003. The Momsen was commissioned on 28 August 2004. As of 2009, the Momsen is serving in the Pacific Fleet, home ported in NAVSTA Everett, Washington, and assigned to Destroyer Squadron 9. The construction of the Momsen from initial steel cutting to sea trials, was documented in the Discovery Channel television special Destroyer: Forged in Steel. The destroyers were not referenced by name, but their numbers were visible on their prows.

So for the past week we have been experiencing record breaking heat for these parts. On the day of our little cruise temps were to reach an all time high of 102. When I say all time high I mean hottest day on record for Seattle. EVER. And even though we were going to be standing on a mammoth steal deck; I could not imagine a better place to be than out on the water of Elliot Bay in the Puget Sound. (Actually any place was better than our A/C free apt which has been a toasty 95 degrees inside until about midnight where it dropped to 85. All of you that told me that you don't need A/C up here can suck it! LIARS!!!) So after a lot (A LOT!) of hurry up and wait we boarded the ship and were under way. One knows that these vessels are huge but you don't really get a sense of it until you get up close and personal. The coolest part of the cruise (other than the breeze) was that the ship was about 85% open for you to wander around and explorer. The first time we went below deck it was a little confusing with all the stairs and hallways that lead to locked doors. After a bit you get the lay of the ship and how to make your way around.

(last picture I got before crushing the LCD screen on my camera)

Lunch was also served on our boat trip. I was thinking it was going to be a simple box lunch. But when the Navy has a BBQ they go all out. As we stood in the very long lunch line we saw people walking away with heaping plates of cheese burgers, bbq chicken, hot dogs, potato salad, chips, and rice crispy treats. I was starving and for every plate that went by my mouth watered a little bit more. Every now and again the Master Chief would come and grab a group of about 10 passengers behind us and take them down to the galley to help move the back of the line along. He did this until the 50 or so people behind us were gone and Fiance and I made up the back of the line. About 5 minutes later he came back and asked if if we would like to follow him and have lunch in the Wardroom. Fiance's eyes just about popped out of his head.

History Lesson II:

The wardroom is the mess-cabin of naval commissioned officers above the rank of sub-lieutenant. The term the wardroom is also used to refer to those individuals with the right to occupy that wardroom, meaning "the officers of the wardroom". Since 1948, ward-rooms have been used by warrant officers as well as commissioned officers. It provides a place of recreation as well as being a dining room. Usually, a galley or scullery adjoins the wardroom. Service is provided by stewards. Wardrooms have rules governing etiquette. Traditionally considered taboo are three topics: politics, religion, and sex (earlier guidebooks referred to the latter as ladies). On large ships in peacetime, talking about professional business is frowned upon. It is also considered inappropriate to perform work or to meet with subordinates in a wardroom.

So instead of eating our lunches off of a paper plate on our laps on the flight deck we ate out lunches seated at a table eating our made to order lunch off of china in the air conditioned wardroom with the officers.

(Sailors Manning the Rails)

History Lesson III:

Manning the rail is a method of saluting or rendering honors used by naval vessels. The custom evolved from that of manning the yards, which dates from the days of sail. On sailing ships, men stood evenly spaced on all the yards (the spars holding the sails) and gave three cheers to honor distinguished persons. Today the crew are stationed along the rails and superstructure of a ship when honors are rendered. The United States Navy prescribes manning the rail as a possible honor to render to the President of the United States and for rulers of foreign nations. A similar but less formal ceremony is to have the crew "at quarters" when the ship is entering or leaving port. Manning the rail is also the traditional way to honor the USS Arizona Memorial when it is passed by U.S. ships.

The only down fall was when I smashed the LCD screen on my camera while coming down a steep ladder. It still takes photos, you just can't see what it is your are taking a photo of. Good times! Over all we had a great time out on the water. the crew was extremely accommodating to the 200 extra people they had aboard for the work day. Now I think Fiance needs to work on getting us on an aircraft carrier...Tiger Cruise anyone?

Independence Day

2009-07-04T10:44:00.005-06:00

And the rocket's red glare...

The bombs bursting in air...

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Yeah, yeah, yeah I know that last picture should have been of a flag but I didn't get a good one last night. There is some red, white, blue in there. Have a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend. If you get the chance take the time to thank a member of our military, past or present, for keeping this the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

tennis

2009-07-03T09:24:00.003-06:00

an exchange while watching a rebroadcast of the Federer/Nadal finals match from last years Wimbledon this morning.

Fiance: Why are they showing this? Where are today's matches?

Me: Maybe there is a rain delay

F: Nadal won this last year right?

M: I think Federer did.

F: NO if this is last year's match NADAL won.

M: Well if you knew that then why the f*ck did you ask me?

apparently I make really good eggs...

2009-06-28T21:13:00.007-06:00

Last Thursday stared off like any other day the only exception being it was Fiance's birthday. We stuck to our usual routine. Fiance gets up and hops in the shower, I get up make coffee, his lunch and breakfast. This morning I made one of his favorites; eggs over easy, sausage and wheat toast. While he eats he watches Sports Center while I tidy up the kitchen. We decide because I am going to meet him for lunch that I will go ahead and drive him to work this morning. Normal morning chit chat continues, nothing seems out of the ordinary. That is until I head to the bedroom to make the bed. It is then that Fiance intercepts me. He pulls me into an embrace and following exchange went a little something like this...

Fiance: I like waking up next to you.

Me: I like waking up next to you too. (I try to back out of the embrace)

F: You made really good eggs this morning.

M: ummmm...okay (I try to back away again...I mean I have an unmade bed to make)

F: I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

I give him a "whatchoo talkin' about Willis" look as he pulls a white box out of his pocket, did he buy me some earrings or maybe a necklace?

F: With that being said...(he drops to one knee)...will you marry me?

He opens the box, I see the ring, and I lose it. Tears streaming down my face I nod and mouth the word yes. He slips the ring on my finger which is followed by lots of hugging, kissing, and more tears.

He had been planning this since February. We had never even gone to look at rings together. He had enlisted the help of my friend Jenn to run reconnaissance to find out what styles and cuts I liked and my ring size. They referred to the surprise mission as Operation Busty Housewife which is based off of one of my tweets. And boy did he catch me by surprise. He had been talking about taking a trip this fall and I thought that he would pop the question then. Turns out he was just trying to throw me off the track. He did an awesome job and I love my ring. Fiance isn't always all that romantic; but this was better than anything I could have asked for. I am looking forward to the happily ever after.

Today is Fiance's Birthday

2009-06-25T10:12:00.008-06:00

Today Fiance turned the big Three Five. We went bowling at the Garage with our friends Pete, Tasha, Deepa and Gabe (yes we finally have some friends) helping us celebrate. I made a black forest cake that was so sweet it sent us all into a sugar coma but did not stop us from polishing off three quarters of the cake. Although he had some stiff competition from Pete; Fiance ended up being the best bowler of the night with a high score of 219. It is possible that Pete let him win...being his birthday and all.

So I am sure that you have picked up on the fact that I am now referring to Boyfriend as Fiance. More on that to come...

Thug Story

2009-06-17T10:19:00.008-06:00

Admittedly I don't make it a habit to listen to country music. Boyfriend would be the country music liker in the house. I think that is because he is from Texas and there is some law there that you have to like country music and eat BBQ. Do I have a few country songs in my iPod? Yes. Every once in a while you come across a great song that just happens to be from the country genre; like Lullaby by the Dixie Chicks.

In the last couple of months I have downloaded some songs by Taylor Swift. She sings sweet songs about the things she knows and that are relevant to a girl her age. With all the craziness involving young girls it the spot light, Taylor is actually someone a parent would not mind their daughter looking up to. I caught a Dateline special on her last week and was amazed at how grounded she is for a girl who has attained so much fame. I also like the fact that while being so savvy she also has a sense of humor.

convo with my 13 year old neice

2009-05-31T12:18:00.004-06:00

11:05am Melinda
you are lucky you have good genes...
your mom and I do not look as old as we are

11:05am Amarah
yeah- i look older than i am though

11:05am Melinda
so did I when I was younger

11:05am Amarah
a sixteen year old guy was flirty with me

11:05am Melinda
STAY AWAY FROM BOYS

11:05am Amarah
??????????????
why?

11:06am Melinda
I wasted too much time on boys when I was a teenager
I wish I would have paid more attention to my studies

11:06am Amarah
at least i have a 4.0

She appears to have her head screwed on way straighter than I did at her age.

Like Christmas Morning

2009-05-30T12:57:00.004-06:00

Boyfriend has been in California for the past two weeks and contact has been very limited. He is coming home today. I liken the anticipation of seeing him to the same feeling a kid gets on Christmas morning before heading down stairs to see what Santa brought. I can't wait!!!

Happy Memorial Day

2009-05-25T09:34:00.003-06:00

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

Moina Michael 1915

Today we honor the men and women that made the ultimate scarifice serving our country. I ask that we all take the time today to thank a member, past or present, of our armed forces and say a prayer for those that are in harms way.

THANK YOU!

Just because...

2009-05-20T17:00:00.002-06:00

...I love it. Chris Isaak = HOT!

Another horse person

2009-05-18T20:41:00.011-06:00

I have know Liz since I was thirteen. Liz also had horses and we quickly formed a tight bond. I cannot even begin to tell you how much fun I had with her. During the summer I would get up early and ride DP over to her house and we would take the horses swimming or race each other along the hogback. There is now a high school where her house once stood and highway now runs through the land we used for a racetrack. I always knew that no matter what Liz did in life it would involve horses.

We lost touch over the years and reconnected recently on Facebook. It turns out I was right. Liz is currently the number one Arabian race horse trainer in the country. She spends her summers racing in Denver and I was able to come out and see her horses while I was in town. What she does take an unbelievable amount of time and hard work and her success speaks volumes about her character. I really admire her.

Liz and I have been talking about me comng down and working with her for a few weeks this summer. I am seriously considering it. Liz is wanting to move more into throughbred racing which means she would be able to give up her nomadic way of life and put down some roots. She is thinking about settling in Dallas...which is a pleasant coincidence because so are we.

Girlfriends

2009-05-09T10:32:00.007-06:00

One this last trip to Denver I was able to catch up with some old friends. It had been at least 15 years since the last time I saw Brett and Marybeth. I grew up spending every weekend with these girls riding horses, talking about boys, having sleepovers, and all the things girls do. As soon as I walked into Brett's kitchen all those years apart melted away and we were right back to were we left off. Marybeth made the comment that it is funny how easy we fell back into friendship. I said it was because we are horse people. I don't know what it is there is just something different about horse people...they're a whole 'nother breed. (ha ha get it...whole 'nother breed...I crack me up)

Denver Bound

2009-05-06T11:30:00.007-06:00

Boyfriend and I are headed back to Denver on Thursday for a long weekend. My mother is happy that we will be there for mother's day, but is not so happy that we aren't staying with her the whole time. I am really excited to get together with some girlfriends that I have not seen in years. It should be a fun trip.

UPDATE: It is supposed to be warm and sunny all weekend in Denver. We will be leaving this is Seattle:

Homestretch

2009-05-01T13:56:00.004-06:00

"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man" -Winston Churchill

Just watched this documentary on PBS. With Derby Day being
tomorrow it seemed appropriate.

Pants

2009-04-20T08:47:00.006-06:00

Last night I picked Boyfriend up from the airport and the first words out of my mouth when we walked in the house were "I have got to get out of these pants". Boyfriend just laughed and said "I was wondering how long it would take you". This is something he has gotten used to.

The first three months that we lived here I worked from home and did not have many occasions where I have had to wear pants or jeans. That is not to say that I am wandering around the house pant-less, because I do wear pants, they are just of the yoga persuasion. I would have to say that they are about the most comfortable things on earth. If I could go through the rest of my life wearing no other pants than yoga pants, I would. Now that I am unemployed I have no reason to wear pants EVER!

On the rare occasions that we go out to dinner or meet up with friends I do begrudgingly put on my favorite pair of jeans. While out I find myself repeatedly thinking about how once we get home I will get to slide out of these rough and confining jeans and into my comfy ol' yoga pants. Sometimes the thought of them gets so overwhelming that I want to cut the evening short just to get home to them.

Sometime soon the day will come that I am going to be back in the workplace wearing a pair of khakis. All though necessary, I rue that day. My addiction to my yoga pants is quite crippling. I know it is not a healthy relationship we have, but it is one I am going to hold onto as long as I can.

well hello there...

2009-04-15T08:52:00.005-06:00

On our last day in El Paso in an attempt to get out of the house and into the sun, Boyfriend and I went to the zoo.

Presidio Chapel of San Elizario

2009-04-14T10:11:00.008-06:00

San Elizario is on of the oldest communities in the El Paso area, with a fort or presidio established to protect the Camino Real (Royal Road) and the area settlements. The original chapel was built in 1935 for Mexican troops stationed in the valley in the 1770s. US troops were assigned to the Presidio in 1850 and during the Civil War volunteers from California were stationed there to prevent a reoccupation of the area by Confederate forces. The present Presidio Chapel of San Elizario was constructed in 1877 to replace the earlier chapel which had been destroyed by a flood. In 1935 a fire destroyed the original interior. The current interior dates back to the 1944.

Visiting these old churches has sparked an inerest in the history surrounding the El Paso area. I can't wait until we return so that I can learn even more.

Mission Socorro

2009-04-11T14:46:00.008-06:00

Mission Nuestra Senora da la Limpia Concepcion del Socorro was established in 1682. From that point forward, the mission would undergo a series of relocations, moving to five different places in the El Paso area over the years. The first mission was occupied only from 1682 until 1684, when it had to relocate for protection due to the Manso uprising. The second mission was known as the Old Socorro Mission. It was occupied from 1684 until about 1740. The third mission was occupied from 1740 to 1795, when the fourth mission was constructed. The locations of the first four missions are not known. In 1829 a devastating flood changed the course of the Rio Grande, destroying both the fourth mission and the nearby Socorro Pueblo. The present Socorro mission was completed in 1843 and reused the roof support beams and furnishings of the previous mission.

While in this church we were told a story about they acquired their statue of Saint Michael. The statue was made of cork in Mexico and weighed only 110lbs. It was originally made for the Socorro mission in New Mexico. The men transporting the statue stopped at the Socorro mission in El Paso and asked for lodging for the night. They moved the statue into the chapel for safe keeping. The next morning when they went to load up the statue the men found it too heavy to move. They enlisted the help of ten men and still could not move the statue. After many failed attempts it was decided the the statue was meant for this Socorro mission and not the one in New Mexico. The gentleman telling the story went on to tell us that the Saint Michael statue had a habit of moving around the church until it was given its own alcove to the left of the pulpit. He also told us a few ghost stories of hearing people praying or singing in the church when no one was there. It is a beautiful old mission, I can see why spirits would want to stay.

Chico's Tacos

2009-04-04T09:56:00.005-06:00

Every time I would tell someone who used to live in El Paso that I was heading down they would always ask if I was going to go to Chico's Tacos. Boyfriend has talked this place up to me a millions times...yet we would never seem to make it there when in town. So yesterday while out looking a wedding venues Lupe took us to Chico's Tacos.

Their tacos are basically a fried flauta. Us white folk call them taquitos and buy them frozen in large boxes at Costso when we have parties. You get three tacos per order smothered in a red chili sauce and cheese with a side of jalapeno sauce to pour over the top. Add a side of fries and an icy coke and you are set. They were pretty good...but not something I could eat everyday. I think they would best hit the spot after a night at the bar. I am glad to get yet another El Paso institution under my belt.

Mission Ysleta del Sur

2009-04-03T21:55:00.012-06:00

We arrived in El Paso on Thursday afternoon and man was it nice to feel the sun on my face yesterday. Boyfriend's brother are in town as well and his mom is happy to have a full house. One of Boyfriend's younger brothers Abe had recently proposed to his girlfriend Christy. They have decided to have the wedding in El Paso so today me, Christy and Boyfriend's mom Lupe were scouting out wedding venues.

The last place we looked at was the Mission Ysleta del Sur. This is one of the three churches on the Mission Trail. Mission Ysleta was founded in 1692. The mission was washed away by floods in 1744 and 1829. The mission was reopened in 1851 only to be destroyed again by fire in 1907. Only the sacristy remained and the mission was rebuilt using the remaining adobe walls updating the facade with Mission Revival details. the bell tower was also altered adding the large silver dome, capping 3 centuries of natural disasters. The second I walked in this little church took my breath away.

Christy is planning the wedding I would want for myself if Boyfriend and I were headed down that road. I have had fun helping her in the begining stages of her planning.

Headed down to cool ol' El Paso

2009-04-01T23:07:00.003-06:00

Weather is Seattle...cold, wet, and shitty

Weather in El Paso...sunny, warm, and did I mention sunny?

Boyfriend and I are leaving the dreariness of Seattle for the warm sunny goodness that is El Paso Texas. YEAH!!!

Space Needle March 2009

2009-03-31T20:07:00.006-06:00

This month has been a bit hectic. We made it into the city several times, but I never had the opportunity to take any photos. I drew a nice little picture instead. :)

Real photo next month...something good...I promise.

get a job

2009-03-24T09:55:00.006-06:00

So this is what, my third post for the month? I would have written more, but I was not sure that anyone would want to read about me feeling sorry for myself. Since moving up here March has been the hardest month for me so far.

I found out two weeks ago that my contract work would be coming to an end leaving me unemployed. UNEMPLOYED. I have never been unemployed. I have always ended a job on a Friday and a new job the following Monday. I am trying to play the cool customer about the not having a job situation, while inside I am a fucking mess. Boyfriend saw the cracks and has witnessed me break. He is sweet and tries to reassure me that everything is going to work out. That may be, but in my head I don't quite believe it. I am freaked out. The thing I don't get is how the cost of living up here is so much more than it was in Colorado yet most jobs up here do not reflect that in the pay. I have looked into several jobs that start at half of what I am making now. I don't know how people are making ends meet.

I have had several friends tell me to take advantage of this time to find out what it is I really want to do. At this point I just want to be able to pay my bills. But if you hear of any photographer cowgirl jobs send them my way...I would like to apply.

Portrait

2009-03-13T17:34:00.003-06:00

This is a picture my friend Jenn's youngest daughter Gabe drew of me. If this is what I look like to children it is no wonder babies cry when I hold them.

Because I have the mind of a 14 year old boy

2009-03-03T11:48:00.004-07:00

This commercial kills me.

Come on...with a name like NANNERPUSS...

I am not thinking about pancakes.

Space Needle February 2009

2009-02-28T14:51:00.006-07:00

I am soooo phoning this in this month. This is one of several photos I snapped earlier in the month. I was not completely inspired by any of them and figured I would pop back into the city over the next few weeks for a second go round. But time is sneaky and slips away easily. I promise to offer something better next month.

Shadow Sage Bar

2009-02-27T18:36:00.004-07:00

He was called Jake when my cousin Bill got him. He had had seven owners in seven years. I don't know how many different names he had over those seven years, but his name was now Cody and it would be the name he carried for the next twenty. Cody was skinny and nervous and he loved to run. He was the horse I was told I would never be experienced enough to ride.

That changed when I was fourteen and DP rotated her coffin bone and left me without a horse to ride. Bill offered me Cody and even though I was scared to death of this horse I jumped at it. The first test drive went well. Stopping was a bit of an issue but we ended up stopped eventually. Bill seemed confident that I would be able to handle him. I had passed!!!

Did I mention that Cody loved to run? The second you swung into the saddle you could feel his his energy coiled up like a spring. He more bounced than walked and the second he felt a slack in the reins he was off like a shot. I loved it! Did I also mention that Cody was not so good at stopping? Yeah, that part neither me or my calloused hands loved that part. Cody was a "Star Gazer" and ran with his head and nose straight up in air. A gag bit must have been used on him at some time to cause this and his star gazing was making the bit I was using ineffective. This was when I got the bright idea to try a Hack on him. It was going to go one of two ways. 1. He would stop or 2. I was gonna die trying. My mom, my aunt and cousins lined up on the rail to watch what they were sure would be my demise. I kicked Cody up in to a run and then gave the reins a quick tug and Cody did something I was not prepared for...he stopped.

Cody never got over being skinny, nervous, and loving to run. We had a deal...I took care of him and he took care of me. He knew that even when I was jumping him and DP through fire that everything was going to be okay. The connection I had with Cody was special and was different from the one I had with the other horses. He will always be my favorite boy.

Dark Powder Room

2009-02-26T20:23:00.010-07:00

Dark Powder Room...now isn't that about the worst name you have ever heard for a horse? Better known as DP, Deepers, affectionately as Simba, and sometimes not so affectionately as Alpo. She was 18 months old when my cousin John purchased her with the intent of training and selling her. And that is just what he did, trained her and sold her. The people that bought her changed her name to Pepper and over the course of the next six months undid all the work that had been put into her. I won't go into the details of the mistreatment they put her through, but I will tell you it was bad enough that she had started to defend herself. Many offers were made to buy her back all of which they refused.

With a lot of perseverance and a bit of slight of hand we got her back. She had lost several hundred pounds and had rope burns across her back side. She was damaged and I was hoping her spirit wasn't broken. It was time to take her home. She had other ideas. When I went to load her in the trailer you could see the worry in her eyes and she would not budge. It did not matter how much we pushed, pulled or tried to bribe her with food, she was not getting in that trailer. With mounting frustration we kept trying and more and more people joined the effort. She was thinking she had won this battle of wills. That was until with great team effort she was lifted into that horse trailer. She then proceeded to try and kick her way out of that trailer the whole way home. She exploded out of the trailer the second I unsecured the door. She stopped, looked around, and nickered. She was answered by Oakie and Cody. Her ears flicked forward and she let out what I can only describe as scream. DP was home.

Now it was not all sunshine and rainbows after that. DP had become a nasty, obstinate little bitch. She was pissed off and rightfully so. And she let me know every chance she got by biting or kicking me when I least expected it. Now I don't know if you have ever been bitten by a horse...but let me tell you it is about the worst pain I have ever felt. "My what big teeth you have". "The better to take a huge chuck of flesh off your hip with my dear". That first year was hard on both of us. She tested me in more ways than I can list. She didn't do anything without first putting up a fight. With time and patience came trust, for her in me and me in her.

Once I gained that trust we started to work as a team and she became very much my horse. That is not to say that she did not have her quirks. My least favorite, other than biting, was when she would fake lameness to get out of a class and once we were excused from the arena she was magically healed. I do however have to give her credit for being so sneaky. DP was also a huge ham. I soon learned that if I made a huge deal over the smallest thing that she was more likely to do, especially if it garnered applause.

All my favorite memories were on the back of a horse. I think back to how I used to ride my DP to my friend Liz's house and we would invite boys we like over to ride. How we would set out in a field and let the horses run until tears came to our eyes. No matter how down I was I knew that DP was going to nicker when she saw me and it never failed to make me smile. I miss all of that. I lost DP unexpectedly when I was 19. I felt as if a huge part of me was torn away. I wasn't there and did not get the cahnce to say goodbye. Even now 14 years later my chest gets tight and a lump rises in my throat when I think about her. I miss her so much and it makes me sad that she never had the chance to grow old. It does give me comfort to know that I was able to give her the best life possible. I know she knew how happy she made me.

Okala Bar

2009-02-21T13:23:00.006-07:00

The first time I rode "Oakie" I was 9. I walked up to this big beautiful bay and asked who was going to help me get up on her. My aunt turned to me and said "you're the one riding her, get yourself up". Oakie suddenly seemed so much taller to me. I raised my leg as high as I could, barely slipping the toe of my cowboy boot onto the edge of the stirrup, wrapped my hands in the saddle strings and pulled myself up. The second Oakie took that first step with me in the saddle I was hooked.

Oakie was an Appendix Quarter Horse and had spent some time on the track. She leaned towards the Thoroughbred side with her long legs and lean body...in a word she was gorgeous. Of all the horses Oakie was the easiest to ride and made even the most novice rider look good in the ring.

As I got taller those saddle strings got shorter and we both got older. Oakie spent the last years of her life as the spoiled queen of the pasture. I think there was a part of her that longed to be brought along to the fort with the other horses...but I think there was a larger part that was just as happy to stay home and be Queen.

Ruff

2009-02-20T09:37:00.009-07:00

In the past few months through Facebook I have reconnected with friends I had while a member of an organization called Westernaires. All of my best childhood memories were spent on the back of a horse. Catching up with these friends has brought me back to a place in my life that I both loved and hated. Because of this over the next couple of days I will be taking a little trip down memory lane and remembering my favorite horses.

All of my horses were hand me downs passed down through my cousins John and Bill. Ruff should have been my first horse, but was my second. I started out with Oakie and am not sure of the reason I switched to Ruff...there was a bit of horse swapping going on. Ruff was just about the sweetest creature on four legs. She was a mix or Quarter Horse and I think Icelandic Pony. At roughly 14 hands she was perfect for me at 10 years old. In the picture above she was about 31. It was my first horse show and her last...and as you can see she left the scene a winner. She got to spend the next few years kicking around the pasture. I miss that sweet girl I learned so much from her.

I have to mention that the outfit I am wearing was hand fringed by my mother. I am not saying that she bought some fringe and sewed it on...I am saying that she spent several hours a night after work over the course of weeks stringing each piece a fringe through a thin strip of lace. Now that is love!

home towns

2009-02-11T10:36:00.004-07:00

I was born in the Windy City.

Grew up in the Mile High City.

I now live in the Emerald City.

I think I see a pattern here...

you can decide who is which

2009-02-10T12:22:00.003-07:00

There is Starsky and Hutch, Salt and Peppa, Batman and Robin, Peaches and Herb, BJ and the Bear...and now there is Beans and Rice. That is what Boyfriend has taken to calling us as a couple. I dunno...I kinda like it.

sunday drivers everyday

2009-02-05T19:33:00.005-07:00

Things having been going fairly in the 5 weeks we have been up here. I do have one complaint though. It is not about the weather as one might think. It is not that there are no Super Targets up here (which chaps my hide but I am okay with it because there is Ikea). It is not that I don't have a job, any friends, or money. It is the way people drive here.

Dear Washington State drivers...you suck!!!

As I have mentioned before no one is in a hurry to get anywhere. Today on the way back from lunch with Boyfriend I was almost driven (literally) into a homicidal rage by all the people just cruising around at 35mph in a 50mph zone. IN THE FAST LANE!!! That is my lane...if you are not going fast stay out of it. Boyfriend had warned me about the slowness before I got up here, but I was not prepared for this. I want to put up bill boards all over the state that say ..."the gas pedal is the long skinny one on the right, you depress it to make the car go fast."

And God forbid you get behind anyone who has to make a turn. That process goes like this...driving along, the car in front of you comes almost to a complete stop, then turns on their blinker and proceeds to turn left right/left. Ummmmm...thanks for the warning jerkass. Maybe it would be a good idea to know where you are going before you leave the house.

To think that I thought driving amongst Californians and Texans in Colorado was bad.

out for a drive

2009-01-31T21:21:00.005-07:00

The sun came out for a few hours this afternoon so we decided to take a drive. We stopped in Silverdale to stretch our legs and walk down by the water. I can't wait until it feels like Washington is our home and we aren't just tourists.

Ojo Caliente

2009-01-29T21:59:00.009-07:00

Over Presidents weekend last year I went down to the Ojo Caliente Springs in New Mexico with my girlfriends Robin and Andrea. On the last day we were there Andrea and I woke up early to take some photos of a Hispanic graveyard we had seen up the road. I was going through some old photo files on my computer and had forgotten about those photos. Here are a few of my favorites.

the differrence a few miles can make

2009-01-22T15:14:00.007-07:00

We were in Bellevue on Monday afternoon. It was gorgeous...the sun was out and it was warm.

Then we drive the few miles south and return home to this...

It was foggy like this for about 4 days. It was a spooky Stephen King "The Mist" kind of fog. At times visibility was down to less than 200 feet...and let me tell you that makes for fun driving. In the end I will take fog over freezing rain.

Pancakes

2009-01-21T10:02:00.009-07:00

As promised Boyfriend took me out for pancakes this morning...and boy was I needing those pancakes. He took me to a place called Chase's Pancake Corral up in Bellevue.

Chase's has been around for about 50 years and is the type of place where the staff knows the names of all the regulars. It is a tiny little place that is always packed. We went around 11am on a Monday and still had to wait 20 minutes for a table...but it was worth it.

Boyfriend had the banana pancakes with coconut syrup. They tasted like being at the beach...you know the way cocoa butter smells yummy...like that plus bananas. I went with the blueberry because I always go with the blueberry. I also had bacon. I love bacon...I mean I really LOVE bacon.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...still thinking about bacon.

Which way do I go?

2009-01-18T18:32:00.006-07:00

Today is the 14th day I have lived in Washington with Boyfriend. With the exception of going downtown last weekend, it has been a rather uneventful 2 weeks. I miss Colorado, my friends, and dare I say it...a job to go to everyday. Mostly I miss having a sense of direction...as in an actual direction sense...not in a life, career, relationship sense. I miss having those mountains to the west. If they are on your right you know you are heading south, to your left north, and in the rear view mirror east. Here the only real landmark is Mount Rainier...and that only helps if you actually know what direction Mount Rainer is and if it is not hidden in the clouds.

It also does not help that the roads not laid out in a nice grid system like they are in Denver. You can drive 3 miles on on the same road and it will change names five times. If it was not for my GPS system I am not sure that I would ever get anywhere. Even with it I still feel like I am driving in circles...how can you make four left turns and not end up going on a circle? It is like NASCAR sans the go fast part. People do not go fast here and are actually quite happy going 5-10 mph under the speed limit. And did I mention that it does not mater how many turns you make you always seem to be heading in the same direction? In the end no matter how slow I go and no matter how many left turns I make I always manage to end up where I am supposed to be.

Anyway it is a 3 day weekend so Boyfriend does not have to work tomorrow. I am going to blow off work and we are going to drive up to Bellevue for pancakes. YEAH PANCAKES!!!

at least I know he would be able to feed himself if I died

2009-01-13T10:50:00.004-07:00

Boyfriend and I went to Costco last night to pick up a few things and he could not leave the store with out the jumbo 28 count box of Corn Dogs.

I guess I can't give him too much flack because just minutes later I found a 6lb bag of Gummy Bears I could not live with out.

It is a very good thing that we are in the gym twice a day...

Space Needle January 2009

2009-01-11T16:07:00.013-07:00

When I first heard that we would be moving to Washington I decided that at least once a month I wanted to take a picture of the Space Needle. Other than the Market I could not think of anything that screamed Seattle Louder. I also thought it would be a good way to guarantee that we got out of the burbs and into the city at least once a month. We were feeling a bit touristy yesterday and decided to head downtown. We were just outside of the Queen Anne neighborhood when I snapped this photo. I commented that I had just taken my first Space Needle photo. Boyfriend replied "that is great! Now we don't have to stop".

Ummmm...yeah...no...we are going to have to stop and then you are going to have to stand around while I take a billion photos in the hopes that I get at least one that I like...then and only then we we get to go to the Market to buy fish and get a bite to eat. Conditions were far from ideal, it was raining, the sky had decided to turn all the same shade of dreary grey, and I was cold. I did manage to get a few shots that I liked.

I present to you Space Needle...the first in a series of 12

Since we were feeling touristy we decided to fo ahead and pony up the dough to go up to the observation deck for a look around. Now when friends come to see us we won't have to do that and can spend more time eating dim sum.

P.S.
Dear Universe, I desperately want a new camera. Anything you can do to make that happen would be greatly appreciated.
Smooches,
Melinda

a coincidence?

2009-01-10T09:55:00.003-07:00

I have met three people in Washington so far...and all of them are from Colorado. A coincidence...I don't think so.

Sore in places I did not know I had muscle

2009-01-07T22:35:00.005-07:00

So in keeping with the New Year resolution I decided to take a couple of personal training sessions...you know just to get off on the right foot. The trainer I got is named Dan, he is 24, tan, has that spiky club hair, and is well built. I was more hoping to get a female, PE teacher type of trainer and not some good looking cocky kid...but what can you do.

Our first session together consists of Dan getting my weight and measurements and discussing the workouts, nutrition and my goals. The later part I was okay with it was the weight and measurements part I was dreading. I knew I had gained some weight over the last couple of months but was shocked to see just how much. Dan then used that caliper thing to measure my BMI. That is something I can totally live without...a hot young guy pinching my fat. After calculating my BMI and my lean muscle mass Dan comments that he is surprised at my numbers. I ask how so and he says "you carry your weight very well"...which is code for "you are a lot fatter than you look". Ummmm....thanks? The weight range that he would like to see me in is the same as I had in mind so I know that neither one of us will be working towards and unrealistic goal. I am not going to tell you my starting point because yeah I am just not...but when I meet my goal I will be around 130-135 with 20% body fat.

Day One

I meet Dan at noon the next day for my first workout...we will be focusing on legs. Dan tells me he is excited about training me because he does not have to start at square one with me. So with that he says that he is going to start my workouts where I would be had I been working out with him for a month. I am a little flattered at his confidence in my ability...I am also hoping that he has not misjudged me. We start out warm up on the stair climber. The first thing Dan tells me is to look at my feet and only my feet because if I fall off the stair climber he is going to laugh at me then walk away and pretend I am not his client. We are going to do 2 minutes at level 10 (I usually only go to 7), 2 minutes at 12 skipping every other step, and then the final 2 minutes back at 10. All is going well and we are chatting away and about a minute into me skipping every other step I look up and I trip. OH MY GOD I was about to fall off of the stair climber just 3 minutes into my workout...not a good way to start. Using my cat like reflexes I was able to catch myself and get right back into step. Dan does not laugh but instead tells me I am awesome. After the warm up Dan has me do about 50 different kinds of squats, leg extensions, leg curls and there is a lot of jumping up and down off of boxes. Finally our hour comes to an end and not a second too soon as my legs are Jello. Tomorrow we are doing chest and triceps.

Day Two

Today when I show up Dan tells me that even though he knows I had my heart set on chest and triceps he had something else in mind. He had thought about burning out my chest and then doing a boxing workout but instead of that we would be doing a full body circuit. He runs me through the circuit which consists of 2 leg, 2 arm, 2 ab, and 1 total body exercise. I can't help but laugh as he is showing me the circuit because he only did 2-3 reps at each station and had already broken a sweat. I would be doing 15 reps at each station for 3 circuits. I was not looking forward to this. But first I had to warm up on the stair climber...there would be no falling off today. We are about halfway through the first circuit when Dan informs me that he this workout has made most of his clients puke. Great...not only do I have to concentrate on keeping my abs zipped up but I also have to try not to throw up. This work out killed me. I was pouring sweat, my legs and shoulders were on fire, I could not hear out of my right ear, but I did not puke. I literally feel like I want to die...but I am proud of myself because I did it.

I addition to working out with Dan I have been going back to the gym with Boyfriend in the evenings to do about an hour of cardio and additional ab work. I am sore beyond words. Boyfriend says that pain is just weakness leaving the body...yeah and that pain he feels is just me punching him in the gut. I like the way I am feeling though and I want to keep it up.

IKEA

2009-01-05T11:50:00.010-07:00

I woke up at 4:00am Sunday. It could have been because I am not used to the time change...or because I fell asleep at 7:30PM the night before...or maybe just maybe it was because today was the day we were going to IKEA!!! I was like a kid on Christmas morning, I wanted to go right NOW!!! But of course Ikea is not open at 4:00am...I checked...it did not open until 11:00am.

We had to pick up Boyfriend's truck first so I would be following him to that great store of all things Swedish. I plugged the address into my GPS just in case he did not know where he was going. So we drive around a bit and then my GPS says to turn left and I was arriving at my destination...but Boyfriend was not turning. It was right there...the big blue building on the left...why aren't you turning Boyfriend...turn, Turn, TURN FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TURN!!! Then a block and a half later he turned. All the while this huge blue building was on our left. I had heard it was big but I had no idea it was this enormous...and when I say enormous I mean almost as big as the state of Rhode Island.

Finding parking is not a problem as we are there early, this would not be the case when we came out 3 hours later. I was unprepared for all the wonderful things inside this blue box. I was not 10 feet inside the door and had found about 7 things I wanted. I thought that we would look around a bit as we could always go back and grab anything that we wanted. Here is a tip if you find something you want grab it and carry it with you as chances are you will not remember how to get back to where is was that you saw it. We got lost no fewer than three times while wandering around.

This place has everything...including the kitchen sink. Oh and did I mention there is a restaurant right in the store?!?! If you find yourself getting a bit peckish while shopping you can go right in and get yourself a plate of Swedish meatballs. Right now I would say that the Ikea is my favorite place in all of Washington. I could have easily spent a couple thousand dollars in the store that day. I want to live at the Ikea...it is so big that I am sure that no one would notice if I were to move right in. I think I will have to limit myself to only going once a month. Boyfriend has instated a rule that I am not to go there alone...that is probably for the best as I don't think I could be trusted to keep my spending in check.

Day Two...the home stretch

2009-01-04T07:19:00.007-07:00

We knew day two was going to be much easier than day one with only about 400 miles to go. We slept in until 7:30 am and after breakfast and a Starbucks run were on the road by 9:00 am. It was cold, but we had blue skies and no wind.

Once the sun went down the night before we did not get to see how pretty this part of Montana was. With all the new snow the drive through the mountains was beautiful. We had gotten a lot of snow in the mountains of Colorado, but it does not compare with the amount of snow they gave gotten in Northern Montana and Idaho.

We cut across the panhandle of Idaho and went through Coeur de Laine. The views of the lake here are breath taking. I think this might be an area we venture back into in the summer. We entered Washington through Spokane. It had been all over the news about the amount of snow Washington has been getting...but we were thinking they were talking by Washington standards. By any standards Washington has an assload of snow.

(Snoqualmie Pass)

We arrived in Kent around 3:30 PM. It is weird to say...but it is nice to be home. I can't wait to get out and explore the area. But first things first...tomorrow Boyfriend promised he would take me to Ikea.

Day One

2009-01-03T07:26:00.004-07:00

The alarm went off at 4:08 am and the song Crazy by Gnarls Barkley was playing...I found that rather appropriate. After getting the last few things in the truck, taking some pictures and a tearful goodbye to my mom we were on the road by 5:20 am...only 20 minutes behind schedule but less than the hour we are usually behind on these road trips. We made it in to Cheyenne by 7:00am we were making good time and things were going well. The plan was to make it to Missoula, MT 7:00 PM going roughly 950 miles, or about 13 hours including drive time and stops.

There are some beautiful sights in Wyoming...Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons to name a few...but we would not be seeing any of that. If you have ever had the pleasure of taking I25 across Wyoming you know it is boring as hell (not Nebraska or Kansas boring but boring nonetheless) and it is windy. It does not seem to matter where we go...if we are on a road trip there is going to be wind and lots of it. Once out of Cheyenne those winds started up. It would not have been so bad had it been a tail wind...but instead we were faced with 65 mph cross winds. I had the wheel cranked so hard against it that if the wind would have suddenly stopped we would have gone careening into off the road and into a ditch.

We stopped for lunch in Sheridan, about 20 miles from the Montana border, at noon. I can't remember the name of the place were we had lunch...but I do remember the name of the loud little kid at the table next to us...it was Tyler. Dear Tyler's parents, telling Tyler to shush 50 million times is obviously not working maybe you should try something else, or take him to a McDonalds playplace next time. After lunch we crossed over into Big Sky Country...and I have to tell you that the sky does seem bigger in Montana.

Driving through this part of Montana was a lot like Wyoming with the exception of more hills and snow. We were a bit ahead of schedule so we decided to be a little touristy and stopped to do the tour at the Little Bighorn Battlefield. It was getting colder and windier so we tried to be quick about it. Boyfriend had been there before and was able to give a very informative your yet abbreviated tour. I got the gist that maybe Custer was not all that hot of a General and had he kept his troops together that the out come would have been very different. I was also sad to learn that all but a horse named Comanche died in the battle.

In checking the weather before leaving that morning we knew that there was a 30% chance of snow...and we ran into that snow just outside of Billings. We went from cloudy skies and clear roads to whiteout conditions and icy roads in a matter of minutes. We drove in and out of snow for the next 6 hours. Every once in a while we would get lucky and get about 20 miles of dry roads but it did not help to make up time. Once in Butte the skies cleared and the roads appeared to dry up. it was 9:00 PM we were about 120 miles outside of Missoula, hours behind schedule and tired. My foot became very heavy and I drove those winding mountain roads as fast as I could...regardless of the protests coming from the passenger seat. We pulled into Missoula at about 10:15 PM...3 hours behind schedule. Here's to hoping that the last 400 miles are a little easier.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T10:26:00.003-07:00

New Years Resolution

This year instead of writing up a long list of the things I want to do and will never get around to doing, I decided to focus on just 2 things

1) Losing stress weight. I have gained 15 lbs since finding out about this move. I am not one of those lucky people who lose weight when stressed...oh no quite the opposite. I see myself spending a lot of time at the 24 Hour Fitness. My goal is to lose the initial 15 lbs and then an additional 10...just for good measure.

2) Find something I am passionate about and find a way to make money doing it. I am giving myself the full year on this one. Oprah seems to have the inside scoop on how to do this. I am thinking I may have to get in touch with her...

5 meaningless sentances

2008-12-28T07:44:00.005-07:00

I still don't think the fact that I am moving half way across the country in 5 days has fully sunk in. When asked if i am excited about the move I just shrug my shoulders and make this face that expresses excitement and sheer terror. I am totally game for this move...I just can't seem to get my mind around it. I can't get my mind around anything. Complete thoughts are totally escaping me. If you want to have a conversation that makes no sense and goes nowhere...well then I am your girl.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T06:11:00.007-07:00

All you have to do is believe...

DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so'. Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

VIRGINIA O'HANLON
115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET.

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

11 days and counting...

2008-12-21T20:55:00.007-07:00

So because I am lazy I have so much still to do before I leave on January second. This week is going to suck.

I am taking my truck in to have the clutch looked at tomorrow morning. The throw-out bearing has been whining for months. So instead of getting it taken care of months ago I waited until the week of Christmas. I don't know what I am going to do with out a vehicle this week. (stupid on my part...but still sucks)

I still have to pack up the little that I still have here but laziness is too crippling right now. (again stupid and sucky)

I am supposed to meet Liza for drinks tomorrow. (that does not suck)

I only have to work three days this and next week which is good...but it is also the end of month/year...so the short weeks makes what I have to get done by the end of the year impossible. (that sucks)

Boyfriend is coming home on Christmas day. (WOOHOO)

I have yet to buy even on Christmas present. (Major Suck)

I am pretty much not in the mood for Christmas at all this year. I just want these holidays and the next 11 days to go by as quickly as possible. This move has been drawn out to long and I am just ready to get up to Seattle and get the ball rolling there.

sick

2008-12-20T12:32:00.002-07:00

I have been sick for going on two weeks now. I am tired of it.

McRib is BACK!

2008-12-16T11:35:00.011-07:00

4 (yes 4) text conversations I have had about the McRib (yes really) in the last 12 hours...

With Jenn...
Jenn: all I’ve been thinking of lately is the mcrib from mcdonalds so I won’t be much help trying to find something good.

Me: Is the mcrib back?

Jenn: Yes. Yes it is. Bain of my existence. I love them with their fake rib shaped meat and sauce. What is wrong with me?

Me: nothing…I thought is did not come back until stock show

Jenn: They brought is back early

Me: WooHoo!

With Mike...
Me: mcrib is back

Mike: Oh Hell Yeah! I know what I’m having for lunch tomorrow

Me: LOL…Jenn is all excited about it too

Mike: Love the f’ing mcrib!!!

With Dan...
dan: oh boy you poor thing

me: yes...feel sorry for me

dan: did you remember to bring your flask?

me: NO

me: but McRib is back...so I have that to be happy about

dan: at Mc Donalds?

me: yes

dan: That is pretty much the coolest thing ever

And Mike Again...
Me: I had a McRib for lunch

Mike: damn it! i forgot and have been on calls all day

Me: well there is always dinner

Mike: well i had yucky tuna fish for lunch...not a yummy mcrib

Me: well there is plenty of time for you to enjoy the porky, saucy, oniony, pickley goodness that is the McRib

Mike:mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm