Old Lady Halloween Wishes

Our vet's office really has a sense of humor.  These are the pics they gave us after the last time we boarded Orca.  Boy, did they pick the right costume for her!  Love it.

Happy Halloween, peeps!

Spooooooky

A different kind of Monday

G is going to walk in with me this morning and explore downtown while I get a little work done.  Then it's lunch together and an early afternoon walk back.  I could so get used to this.  With such strong ties to the East Coast - and with everything closed there - it makes for a calm Monday around here for us.  I'll take it and I'll be thankful.

This weekend we went to the best REI in the world and I stocked up on some much-needed supplies:

More Under Armor, snow boots & new hiking shoes.  With a new vest, some socks, and some power bars thrown in for good measure.  I didn't notice how worn down my current hiking shoes were until I put some new ones on and felt like I was walking on a cloud.  I was practically high-stepping around the store.

I could move in to REI, I'm telling you.  The one here has a bike trail outside for testing; an interior rock wall; they let you test out the kayaks on the river right by the store; and "freezers" to walk inside to test the winter gear.

And a Starbucks.

That did me in.

Hope all the East Coast peeps are battening down the hatches and staying safe!  I'll have a beer for you today!

Stuck!

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy (i.e. Frankenstorm), G is stuck here for the next three days!  Weather and travel snafus never work in our favor, so we're gonna live it up!  Cheers!

We're Walking, We're Walking*

Our second snowfall since I moved here only a few weeks ago!  Nothing says Happy Halloween like snow, folks!  Although my daily walks are getting more and more complicated, I still enjoy them.  I think I'm part hiker, part sherpa at this point because the weather changes create more and more "just in case" gear for me to have with me at all times.

As it is, every day I pack my work clothes and a morning snack.  Additionally, I always carry my raincoat (scrunched at the very bottom of my pack) as well as an umbrella (just in case), which is a good thing because it rained yesterday and C didn't have an umbrella so she stole mine.  Now that it is going to be...precipitating...more often, I need to take extra care packing things.  So today my notebook, phone and ipod went inside two ziplock bags in my pack.  And my clothes went inside a - wait for it - garbage bag.  It was the only thing lightweight and waterproof that I could think of.  It worked, but I walked around smelling like Febreez all day.

I look like a super model, as you can imagine.  Under Armor pants (like lightweight long johns) and a shirt, with my rain pants and rain coat on top, and snow boots.  Let's not forget earwarmers (bonus - they double as a sweat band!  Am I sounding EVEN MORE FASHIONABLE now?!) and gloves.  When I feel like I'm overheating, I take the gloves off.  That doesn't last for long - maybe a minute? - and I'm yanking them on again.

The stairs! They are killing me. 

I have to stop every two floors so I don't pass out.  That's a lot of stops because it's a lot of floors. 

At first, I tried to strike a cool pose as I stood there, in case anyone opened the door or came up/down the stairs and saw me.  But then I was like, Oh screw it.  I bend over at the waist and just wheeze.  By the time I get to my floor, it takes me about 2-3 full minutes, wheezing to myself in the empty stairwell, to get my breath back enough to walk in the office.  My coworkers take one look at my beet-red face, and my windblown hair piled on top of my head, and just go back to their work.  No embarassment here.  Out here, everybody has tattoos and looks a bit...outdoorsy.  I mean that in a good way.  I think these are my people.

I wanted to take pics of the snow on my way in because it was majestic.  There's just something about how much quieter things are when there's snow all over the place.  But alas, my phone was wrapped up tightly - an added bonus is that I miss early morning calls from HQ.  I just want to tell them - Hello!  Remember the whole time difference concept?  It may be 9:00 a.m. your time but it ain't official office hours for me yet, you crazy people.

I'm very professional like that.  You know, as I hoof it to work while schlepping my entire life on my back.

Now that I work in such a cool location (take that any way you want!), I try to take advantage of all the restaurants around here by running out and grabbing lunch.  Today's was chicken stew and a pepper biscuit - be still my beating heart - it was so good.  I'm like, I walk all the time, why am I not losing weight?!?!  Oh well, let me just go get a Pumpkin Spice Latte, you know, since it's so cold outside.

**sigh**

Guess who's flying out here right now for a long weekend?!  I can't wait.  Plus, we only have one more room to tackle and the apartment will be complete.  And by "we" I mean "G" since my part is done.  I'll be like, I love you, I've missed you, here's a box.  Now start unpacking.



*on P!nk's new album, there is a song called "Walk this Way," blatantly about the walk of shame.  It's incredibly addicting and as part of the chorus she kind of talks and says, "We're walking...we're walking."  Now, no matter what, that goes thru my head on my commute.

TGIF, people!

Numbers

This pic was taken from a party we threw for a Battlestar Galactica Season Premiere like a million years ago.  Word to the wise, though: if you mix together candy corn and peanuts, it tastes exactly like eating a payday.

Some Numbers, from a non, non, non-mathematician:

1 hill (a gradual doozie) on my walk to work.

3 articles of clothing that will fit in our washer simultaneously.

4 people + 1 ferret who live in our house.  G met them the other night and says they are very cool.  Blessing!

55 times a day that I see people with dogs and want one.  If Orca doesn't get out here soon, she may find herself with a little canine cousin.

63 days until Christmas.  I can't believe it.

95 miles that I have walked in CO so far.  Today I'll make it 100.

Miracle of all miracles - I'm adjusting to breathing without oxygen at this altitude.  I might as well take up mountain climbing at this point.  I have actually started to consider taking the stairs once I get to work as an added bonus.  It's no joke because our floor is way up there.  Since stairs are the one thing that still kill me, I thought I would try it a couple of times a week and work my way up to daily.

If this is the last post I write, it means the whole stair idea didn't pan.

Is it Friday yet?!

ARGO SEE IT

Source

No spoilers here.

Based on a declassified true story, when Iranian students invaded the American Embassy in Tehran, six Americans escaped.  They hid in the Canadian ambassador's home for months while unbeknownst to them,  all the three-letter agencies in Washington were trying to figure out a realistic rescue.

After exhausting every possible escape scenario, CIA agent Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes up with the idea of scouting Iran for a possible movie shoot.  However, in order to pull it off, they would need a cover deep enough to fool a corrupt regime.  Could Hollywood create such a big lie?  [Enter the humor of the movie.]

Source

This is the best movie I have seen in a long time.  It doesn't try too hard, and it doesn't push the heroism of the people involved so much that you feel preached at or spoon fed the entire time.  I sort of expected that, based on the historical events, the movie would be all "Look at us in Hollywood!  Saving people when the government can't!  We care more than they do!"  So I was prepared to be annoyed.

None of that, though.  Although the big-name cast is impressive, this is a movie that portrays real people, going about their real lives (in D.C., L.A., Iran), pulled into a nightmare.  I would highly recommend it.  You'll spend the entire movie on the edge of your seat.

TGIF, people!

Life these days

Turns out I'm not crazy - the wind was part of a cold front that moved in over the mountains.  I spent yesterday grilling my coworkers who are from this area and they just shrugged it off.  So apparently 75 mph winds are par for the course here.  I was telling G, I don't think this is something that I can easily just get used to though.  I think for the first year or two, I may curl up in the bathtub with the rabbit and some quilts and just ride it out.  Tornados, people.  Tornados.

See, look - I wasn't kidding:

Otherwise, life these days is the same ol'.  I'm settling into a routine and the novelty is starting to wear off (which isn't a bad thing).  Still trying to get the apartment together - there is one crap room left to tackle:

And I have made this much progress so far:

It's all about the baby steps.

Unfortunately, whenever we start to clean out and organize one room, it wreaks chaos and madness upon the rest of the apartment.  There are now boxes everywhere and once again I'm sick of the sight of cardboard.

Apartment living is going really well, though.  I am getting used to the muffled (and sometimes not so muffled) sounds of other people around and of traffic down below.  I like being next to the park.  I like living in a place that someone else is ultimately responsible for.  It's funny; I spent so many years renting and thinking that it would be so much better to own.  And in many ways it is.  But the decreased level of responsibility in this place is nice.

However, I now have the smallest washing machine known to man:

Seriously, I feel like I do laundry all the time because I can only fit a pair of socks and like two shirts in there at the same time.  And it sounds like a jet taking off when it gets to the rinse cycle.  I was on the phone w/G the other night and he goes, what is that noise?  I was like, the (*&*^*&^(*& washing machine.  He thought it was a jet passing over.  I was like, right?????  It puts me on edge but what are you gonna do?

And I still love walking to work.  I have been taking in items for my office gradually.  Today's item is one of my diplomas and it will be bulky:

I am finally going to break down and do the "I love me wall" in my office.  Not because I want to show off diplomas & achievements, but because there is no room for them here!  So I might as well make a statement in the office and show that I'm here to stay, that I'm dedicated, that I'm settling in.

I am loving fall and it is speeding by.  G just made plans to come out here for Thanksgiving and I am looking forward to it just being the two of us.

Tomorrow is Friday!  Come, sweet end of the work week!

Books, Books, Books

First of all, we had the strongest winds last night.  No rain, no snow - just incredibly strong winds.  I'm from a tornado-prone area originally, so this got my hackles up and I ended up staying awake and monitoring the weather channel to see if I needed to hop in the bathtub or shut myself inside the interior closet.

Is this a normal thing for out here?  I couldn't find any type of commentary that suggested it was a big deal.  The weather report seemed normal:  57 degrees, windy.  I was like windy?  That's all you've got? To describe frikkin' tornado weather?

After a rather dry season, I read a cute book this week:

Source

Emily Giffin's lastest book is the story of a woman (Marian) in her thirties, living it up in New York.  She has the perfect job, the coveted apartment and the perfect man.  Until.  (You knew there was an 'until' coming, right??)  The daughter that she had and gave up for adoption 18 years ago shows up on her doorstep.

The beginning is a bit klunky but it quickly takes off and Giffin does a great job of writing from multiple points of view; each chapter alternates between Marian and Kirby (the daughter).  She tackles themes that I appreciate as well:  Adoption (I'm half-adopted; it's a long story), the concept of "Family," what it means to have a 'perfect' life, and how the choices we make set us on certain paths, but those paths are not permanent.

It is also a nice window into high school, and young romantic love.  This would make a great beach book, plane book, or just an "any old time" book.  It is cute and deep and addictive and funny at the same time.

Read any good books lately?  I'm on the lookout...

The other half

I miss my other half.  And the furry old lady too.

These pics make me happy and sad at the same time.

The Library

Before

After

TGIF, people!

Hello, loves

I'll see you tonight.

Source

It feels like a Monday - but it's not!

Gotta love holiday weeks.  Although here's hoping it's not five days of work crammed into four.

This is what it has come to, folks.  G and I took a self-portrait in Wal Mart of all places.  Why, you ask?  I have no idea!  We were standing in line and I was like, hey, let's take a picture.

Blue light special on this dorky couple!  Aisle 5!

We managed to make a lot of progress while G was out here.  We transformed the library into a real room (pics to come, as soon as I can clean the remainder of random stuff off the floor) and more importantly, we put up decorations on the wall!

This is my favorite little section, on a wall between the "dining room" (that's being generous) and the living room:

After so many weeks of de-personalizing the house in order to rent it, and then living in someone else's house, and then living in this apartment with no decorations at all, it is starting to feel like home.

Also, I am loving fall!  It half snowed half sleeted while we ran errands on Saturday, which was the perfect weather for chili.

And lastly, what I am lacking in good books these days, I am more than making up for in good TV shows.  The Good Wife is rocking it, as usual.  After months of being pestered about it, I borrowed the first season of Revenge from my coworker, C.  OMG - very good.  I'm about 5 episodes in, and right now it is the perfect mixture of vengeful, pretty, lusty, cooky goodness.  Gotta love a good vindictive plot.

Happy Fall, peeps!

Books, Books, Books

It is with a heavy heart that I have decided to pull the plug on this one.  I hate to be a quitter but life is too short for boring books, which is what this turned out to be for me.  And it kills me to say that about any work of J.K. Rowling.

When I found out that she was writing another book after the Harry Potter series, I was thrilled.  And when I discovered that the new book was for adults, and did not have to do with witches or sorcery or magic, I was even more intrigued.  As much as I enjoyed the HP series, I thought bravo for her, branching out and doing something different when she could so easily lean on her past successes.

But.

Even with what I believe were realistic expectations on my part, I was too disappointed in this book to continue reading it.  I made it into the 200-page mark and pulled the plug.  The book is about a small English town, and begins with the death of a likable, prominent member of the local society.  The reader is introduced to various personalities and struggles and ambitions of the town folk and how they each face life in light of this death.

I believe that what makes Rowling a good writer is her use of language and her ability to craft sentences.  She is witty with words, particularly descriptions of people and their actions and thoughts.  She is a master of wit and of the classic British understatement.  But she is also a master of plot, which is absent from this book.  Maybe that's a little strong: technically, there is a plot, but it is not compelling enough to hold my attention.  Let me put it this way: if the book had been by any other author besides Rowling, I would have quit reading after about page 50.  Because it was her, I hung on for another 150+ pages.

I was an English major in college and I can remember plodding through certain books, barely able to stay awake, hardly able at all to recount anything I just read.  And after spending an hour or two in lecture, I gained a whole new appreciation for the work.  A few times, I have even gone back and re-read some of these books with a new outlook (or bias?) and enjoyed the experience.  I keep thinking that is what I need in this case.  I need to go to a Works of Rowling class this week and actually deconstruct the book with others and I would probably write a much better review.  But alas.

I would be very interested if any of you read the book and have a different opinion of it!  If so, let me know!  But for now, this is going in the "trade in" pile for those bookstores around the corner.

Can you spot the leopard?

Pun intended.

Can you see it?

The people sharing our rover during one of the safaris got a much better pic than we did and sent it to us.  This leopard was guarding her kill and her cub, so she did not want to be seen.

If you can spot her tail, can you spot the rest of her?  Here's the catch: it is too late, because she has already spotted you!  Mwahahahahahaha!

{hint if you are having trouble:  look in the right upper corner, then look down just a bit.  See those eyes watching you?}

All Messed Up

In the past two months, I have experienced all the seasons, out of order.  I am all messed up.

It has gone like this:

summer --> winter --> spring --> fall --> winter

SUMMER in VA

WINTER in Africa

The beginning of SPRING in Africa

FALL in CO - my walk to work on Thursday

WINTER! The very next day!  My walk to work on Friday

My very stylish - but warm - commute fashion these days

The rapid changes in seasons have made life interesting.  Layers, people.

In other news, guess who is here this weekend?  G!  He is going to help transform our library into a functional space that no longer contains cardboard.  We are in for some hard work but it will be nice doing it together.

Here is the current damage:

But there is some home made chili and a movie night in our future if we survive.  Hope you peeps have a great Saturday!  (Is there any other kind?!)