Attention anyone?

Wanted: Anyone, anyone to pay attention to us! We are severely neglected. Just look at these faces. We like food, food, food and sleep. Come rescue us!

Time flies

Time flies when you are living and breathing. I see that I haven't blogged in days! We are moving offices at work and doing the kitchen project at home...thus, I have no time to really sit down and write. I will update with some pictures soon, when I can get to the office and get out our camera.

I had a nice weekend. We ate dinner with Mom and Dad (thanks guys!) on Friday. Saturday we worked all day on the kitchen and then watched the Rockies. Yesterday, Chester, Stan and I went to Chatfield while Mike painted. They were in desperate need of a good old romp, and I need to shake off these extra pounds that are accumlating because of our eating habits of late.

The kithen is going to take a lot longer than Mike planned. The prep takes the longest, and that kitchen in is need of scraping, cleaning, gutting, etc. I think this kichen is going to look so good that if it takes until Christmas who cares! I am so grateful to my handy hubby Mike, and want him to know just how fabulous he is...

Kitchen, Phase 1

Here are some before and during pictures of the kitchen. This room has been my nemesis for a long time...it is so dark, the linolium has been ruined in a few places and all around I have only used this room for utility purposes. Thanks to my wonderful husband this kitchen will be revitalized! Here is the plan: we are painting the cabinets an off white color (yay! Bring in some sunshine!). We got "braziliam green" tile for the floors and backsplash. We are putting black granite tiles on the countertop and painting the walls an off white. We got a new sink and faucet, but besides a new dishwasher we are keeping the fridge and stove. We are topping it off with a new ceiling fan and table/stool set which will double as a work surface. Our back room-now the "red room"-will be painted the same color as our kitchen with a slightly darker accent wall. Right now we have gray as a floor color and all the gray will be brown. It is going to look so nice! Did I mention this is all thanks to my wonderful Mike? He is the one putting the blood, sweat, and tears into this project. Thank you honey!

Update on Ches

My baby Chester is feeling okay. The vet said that he had an obstruction of sorts, and before she took him into surgery he went outside and pooped out the obstructor. A peach pit. Where the h%^* did he get a peach pit? She said he is feeling better, but we have to watch him the next 24 hours. His rapid weight loss concerned her so if he is still sick we will need to take him back in. Poor guy...I hate it when my guys (all 3 of them) aren't feeling well. Glad to know Ches is on the up and up.

Just need a minute...

I need this minute to take a deep breath and relax. It has been a very hectic weekend. We are starting on our kitchen remodel project which went into full force on Friday night. We picked up all of our tile (we got a lot of tile) and we took a tile class. It was good, but I kept asking our tile guy if he was free for the next two weeks. Saturday, Mike went to work on finishing his repair of a hole in the ceiling. I helped out, took the dogs for a walk, vacuumed up the house, took bookshelves to mom and dad, etc. Yesterday, I cleaned cabinet doors (I could have made a meal from what years have accumulated on those cabinets), got the red room prepped for painting and assisted Mike in a Home Depot run. In the afternoon, Mike demolished the countertops and we took out the dishwasher. I decided right there and then that we won't continue on...just kidding, hon. Last night, though, my Chester started getting sick. He threw up last night and all this morning. He couldn't keep water down, and around 9am this morning he was shivering on his bed. I took him to the vet for a drop off appointment-today he weighed 71 lbs! Last Friday at the vet he weighed 79 lbs. Poor baby. So, he is there now and I hope to hear soon that he is okay, just sick with a bug. Meantime, Mike and I went online to try to buy World Series tickets. What a joke. The computer kept timing out...Mike tried for an hour but the website kept crashing. So, now I am at work, and I wish I weren't! I have had too full of a day already to have to fit work in today.

Busy Busy Bee

Man, my new job is really busy! Don't get me wrong...I love it that way. At the end of the day, though, I hurt. My head hurts, my neck hurts, my back hurts...but it is a satisfying hurt. I love helping my students finish their degree. These folks are dedicated individuals-they have jobs, families, other hobbies. Yet they fit in finishing an undergraduate degree. For some it take 2 years, others it takes 6. December 15th will be my first graduation ceremony as advisor and I can wait to hear the names and see the faces of students who have acheived this goal.

Mike and I finally watched a movie last night. It was called Breach http://www.breachmovie.net/ Highly recommended!

Happy Birthday, Mia!

I dedicate this blog to Mia, who turns 1 this month. I got on the exclusive birthday party list so I got to help welcome Mia to the world of single digit ages! Mia, I hope you know just how special you are to everyone, but especially to your mom and dad. Well, of course you do...I have seen them with you! Truly, I have never seen either so happy, fulfilled, and content as they have been since you came along. So, happy birthday!

The party was fun. Meg and V hosted it at Ketring park, alongside the Littleton Historical Musuem. It was the annual harvest festival so after the yummy cupcakes, birthday songs, and seeing friends we went to the festival. It was a perfect fall day; the air was cool and the leaves are all in the perfect color stages of fall. It was perfect! As perfect as little Mia.

The Girls

Friday night I went out with "the girls." I think I have talked about them enough that everyone is wondering "who are they"? The girls are Caitlin (left) and Amanda (center).

Update on all things good

It is Monday but I really don't mind it. Having a job I like makes a big difference in how I feel about Mondays. I already made a student's day by telling him he will graduate in December. How cool is that? I had a great weekend as well so that makes for a great week. Friday night I did the first friday art walk with some co-workers along Santa Fe. That event makes me feel like I am in a different city! Saturday Mike came home from his business trip so I spent the day getting the house ready and had tea with mom and dad. I like to make the house all nice and clean for Mike after a trip...sleeping in our bed in clean sheets I am sure makes him feel good after staying in a hotel! Saturday night the family came over to watch the Rockies game. Wow, the Rockies are rockin' and it has been so much fun to see them go to the playoffs! Sunday Liz and I walked the Race for the Cure. It was a cool morning but we walked fast. Our legs hurt at the end but it was a very satisfying ache. This one I walked for Roger and Ellen and of course seeing everyone in pink made me teary off and on. Sunday Mike and I planned for our kitchen remodel. We ran some errands, and then hunkered down for the night. It got cold and was rainy so we ate hot meatballs and pasta, watched a 24 episode and tucked ourselves into bed.

Depth Beneath the Surface

Sometimes I feel like I am just skimming the surface. Today I was watering the lawn and saw the fall leaves on the ground and I thought, "One more thing to do." Weekly I clean and vacuum, this time of year I water the lawn and garden, I dust and do laundry, I go to work and be diligent, I come home and watch television. I skim the surface and a week will go by without me able to account for all those hours. My friend Susan calls this type of thing "Groundhog day." Some days feel like that.

But then I talk to my friend Meg on the phone. I feel connected. We have stories to share and more often than not there is a connection among our stories. We are philosophical and come up with solutions that will fix all the daily annoyances. We laugh, we reminisce about our younger years, we plan for the next night out, and often we can talk for at least 30 minutes. These are minutes that I can account for, that put those moments in technicolor. Thanks for keeping me real, Meg.

A great weekend

We went to Fort Collins on Saturday. I can't remember the last time I was there. Our friend Paul bought a house and so we went to visit. I fell in love with this city right away. It has a Boulder feel to it, but it is more spread out and less pretentious as Boulder. Paul said there are bike trails all over; he lives close to the Horsetooth Reservoir and so he can bike there very easily. We visited Kim and Jeff, who both worked with Mike in the Polar programs. They live in the older part of town, which was close to downtown. It was adorable! We went to lunch downtown, again...adorable! (by now Paul and Mike are sick of hearing me say that) and then went over to the New Belgian Brew Company and taste tested some beers. I felt like I was on vacation! We ended up leaving around 3:30 and got back to Denver close to 5pm. We went to a reception for our friends who finally got married so it was good to see them so happy. Sunday, we went on a walk and did some house stuff. We watched the Rockies win and the Broncos lose...but the Rockies winning made it all better!