No more job talk

I have been very successful in keeping in touch with past co-workers. These are two ladies from my TLC Days. We had drinks a few weeks ago. Luckily, conversation about TLC is beginning to wane and we now talk more about our lives. Next to me is CL, she is off to be married in September. Finally. She loves travel and scuba diving. And CK is next to her. She and her husband own horses that they take to the stock show. See? We are all really more interesting than just our jobs!

Thanks Mom and Dad!

After my last post, I got two Kudos emails. One from Mom and one from Dad. Thanks, guys. That means more than coming from my boss!

Love you.

Kudos is just a candy bar

I am trying not to be disappointed.

Every term, there is a term leader for enrollments. I have never been a term leader-not for lack of trying, but my team mates just seem to beat me. For this term, I am the term leader! Most of my team-mates have half or so of what I have for enrollment.

So, why would I be disappointed? Well, typically in team meetings the term leaders are mentioned. In our team meeting today...nada. No "Way to go Melanie!" or anything like that. Nope.

So, I just have to know that I am my own term leader. I am being successful for me and not anyone else. Although, even given just a candy bar would be nice.

A week of friends

This week has been a week of connecting with friends. Monday night I had dinner with S. She is a somewhat "new" friend and we have enough in common that we really enjoy each other's company. There is something very special about S. Maybe it is the light that shines in her eyes, maybe it is that she remembers every detail from our last conversation, maybe it is her sincerity...whatever it is, I am very happy we have this new found friendship.

I got to chat with MP last night for a while. It had been a bit since we connected. What a good soul. I just feel so darn lucky that I have had her in my life for 16 plus years. She continues to be a role model to me.

I had a great lunch with LB today. It had been awhile since I have seen her, she is off this summer and so we met at Sabor. I love that place. They open all the windows and it feels like you are in a restaurant in Latin America. The only downside is that it is so close to work that all work people go there. So, I couldn't do much lamenting about work. To our benefit...we got to talk about other things in life! I love LB. She is just such a down to earth good person. She keeps me in check. After complaining about weight gain during lunch (stuffing myself with a burrito and chips) we walked by a gluten free bakery. I bought chocolate chip cookies for me and my co-workers. She said, "Mel, what did we just talk about at lunch?" LB, I will be better tomorrow. I promise. Thanks for shining your brightness on me today!

This is what I love about summer. I want to be out, seeing friends, or on my back porch chatting on the phone. Thanks, ladies, for making this such a good week!

Can't live without...

...Pearl Street farmers market...morning jogs...walks after work...a clean car...Mike...Harry Potter...time spent with good friends...Robert's daily IMing...Lunch with Dad...Tea with Mom...vacations...hiking...baseball in the summer...football in the winter...Stan's smile...Chester's kisses...2 Fisted pizza...books...Coldplay...art festivals...Netflix...local coffee shops...3 day weekends...flip-flops...Sunflower's bulk foods...Coppola's red table wine...air conditioning...naps...Old Navy t-shirts...gardening...summer...

Weekends...can they be everyday?

I haven't written in a couple of days. I think it is because when the weekend comes I have a hard time sitting in front of the computer for much time. So, I let the weekend go by without really documenting what happens. I must say I love weekends. Mondays get harder and harder for me to face. It doesn't even really matter what I do on the weekend, I just like being on my own time clock.

This weekend was very relaxing. Saturday we did some housework. We sat in the air conditioning and watched baseball. We napped. We went downtown to dinner and then to the Larimer Arts Festival. Somehow, both of us got pretty allergic and had to leave the festival early, but we got home and called it an early night.

Yesterday, we went on a 5 mile hike near Estes Park. We have this awesome book called Canine Colorado, and it lists all the hikes in Colorado that are dog friendly. It tells whether it is an off leash or on leash trail. This one was off leash. The boys had a blast! They are so good off leash-they listen, they don't go too far, and if they are up ahead they always wait for us. This hike was a bit of a challenge. It was downhill for the beginning, so coming back was almost all uphill. Both of us were winded. We stopped along the way quite a bit. The boys had exerted all of their energy going down the trail, so coming back up there were both tired. Stan kept laying down along the way. When we were done, we drove to Estes, had lunch, then came home and napped. We had the most delicious dinner with Mike's family (Sue and Chris were in town) and then came home.

Today...well, I am thinking about what a fun weekend we had. I am trying to call my students, get ready for a meeting, etc. But, I am really thinking...when will it be the weekend again?

Life and Love

Mike and I have been married for 7 years. Each year, while some people love their spouses less, I love mine more and more. So many people speak of the "7 year itch", and I feel like I can't wait to be married longer because it just gets better and better. I love Mike so much. I can't even put it into words. I still get excited to see him after work; I still enjoy spending evenings and weekends with him. He is good to me in ways I can't even explain. Over the years we have had to morph, change, develop, reroute, rework, rewire and hardwire our relationship, from our early days in Glenwood Springs, to what is now our life with the boys. I love where we are now in our relationship, and I anticipate the future with excitement. Here's to you, hon. Thanks for being so good to me.