Commercial Zen

Holding Pattern

2009-07-02T09:09:00.002-07:00

Been almost two months since we've written anything here (ouch). I think that we've been waiting for everything to finally fall into place. And that has ended up taking a lot longer than either of us expected.

It's not a great approach to life - biding time and dreaming about how we'll finally be able to enjoy ourselves once everything is settled.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

I like having a plan. It makes me feel safe. But it also leaves me with the feeling that there's always one more thing to accomplish before we can be happy.

I hope that after this whole house debacle is settled, we'll have a little time to enjoy ourselves before we have to move on to the next phase of the plan.

Now I can't even wear wool in good conscience

2009-05-06T07:38:00.001-07:00

Plus, doesn't it seem a tad ridiculous?

The Milestone Month

2009-04-30T08:55:00.002-07:00

May seems to be our month for milestones. The few milestones that 25 year olds can have…

May 5: On this date we will have been in Colorado for one year. I never believed anyone when they said that time goes by faster as you get older, but this year has flown. I think our willingness to go through the home-buying process (a.k.a. my personal hell) to secure a permanent dwelling will serve as scientific proof that we really, really like it here. It seems like a place that will really grow with us as we get even more settled and curmudgeonly, but still want to hike.

May 13: Three years post-college graduation. I’m not sure either of us are any closer to knowing our purpose or path in life, but we’re trying to enjoy whatever it is we’re doing while we figure it out (if we figure it out).

May 20: Our third anniversary. I had a dream the other night about getting rejected by a potential prom date. For as little as I did it, I really hated everything to do with dating. So I never expected to find the right person as easily as I did. I set the bar really high, and Steve exceeded (and continues to exceed) every expectation. This year we will continue our trend of going to see family instead of doing something “romantic,” but I think getting to see all the Phoenix peeps will make us happier than champagne and sleeping on hotel sheets [shudder].

Gathering Storm Part II

2009-04-21T15:19:00.001-07:00

A Gaythering Storm from Jane Lynch

Hopefully this one did the trick, Becca.

The quality you've come to expect...

2009-04-21T10:02:00.001-07:00

I’ve had a few light, happy-go-lucky blog posts in my head, but haven’t written any of them because I’ve been moody (Steve can confirm that for anyone who needs confirmation). Last week was rough, and while I held it together at the time, after it was all resolved I melted down just a little bit. And rather than write blog posts that sounded like emo lyrics, I figured I’d wait it out. And now being moody has drained all of my energy to write full blog posts, so I’ll continue my tradition of stepping up once a month or so to write a bunch of half-formed thoughts.

On Twitter…

Mostly I like Twitter for the quippy battle of the wits that goes on between friends and family members, and for hearing every cute thing one of the children says since we don’t get to hear as much of it first-hand. But getting texted with the mundane details of the lives of people you don’t really know goes from exciting to weird really quickly.

Oh really, Mark Hoppus? You’re drinking apple juice? You woke up at 3:30 a.m.? You’re eating cheese?

And yes, I’ve been following Mark Hoppus on Twitter. You have something to say about it?

On having no follow through…

I think we’ve gotten better over the years at making the effort to at least start responsible things. We’ll put laundry in the washer, usually into the dryer within a reasonable period, but rarely does it end up folded and put away in any sort of timely fashion. We’ll grocery shop for healthy food, make a meal or two, and then end up right back at Chipotle. We’ll set the alarm for 5:40 and wake up at 7.

Now that we have a house again*, we have to learn to be better. But we also need to figure out rewards to bribe ourselves into doing it because apparently we’re both 8.

*Whatever that means this time.

On drawing the paranormal…

Last night on Paranormal State, they said the three emotions that draw paranormal activity are anger, fear, and regret. Since I’ve had my share of all of those in the last week, we are waiting to see which demon, poltergeist, or spirit will try to take advantage. Luckily, TV has prepared us for this moment.

Also, after breaking the no Paranormal State after dark rule, I didn’t sleep all that well last night. Although to be fair, I think I was still disturbed from flipping through Zombie Strippers! the night before.

On how Steve manages to put up with me…

Still not really sure how he does it, but I’m grateful. In less than a month we’ll have been married for 3 years, and together for almost 7. And of that time I’d say I’ve been annoyingly frustrating 98% of the time, decent life partner 2%. And so it makes perfect sense that he’s excited about my parents coming to live with us because he needs “backup.” I just hope he still finds my annoyingly frustrating secretly charming.

Keeping Our Damn Mouths Shut

2009-04-16T13:11:00.003-07:00

We have no idea what's going on with anything. And everytime we call everyone and spend an hour explaining the situation, it all seems to change again.

Therefore, I'm not planning on saying anymore about anything until it's over and done with. Talk to y'all in 20 years or so.

In case anyone was looking for a laugh this morning...

2009-04-09T07:43:00.002-07:00

It would be funny if they weren't serious.

Random Complaints

2009-03-23T08:02:00.002-07:00

While we were waiting for a table at a restaurant on Sunday morning we got a spiel that ended with “You’re definitely going to hell.” Then our name was called. I’m not sure if it would have had a happier ending eventually, but as far as I know I’m hell-bound. At least I have a million dollar bill with Bruce Willis on it to console me.

After two completely gorgeous days of 75 degree weather, it’s supposed to snow today.

Why must comments on other people’s personal blogs be so insipid? It seems like all people know how to do is repeat some part of the blog in the most unoriginal terms.

Blog: “Isn’t this cute?”
Comments: “That is SO cute!” x247

Blog: “I breathe.”
Comments: “ME TOO. I breathe all the time.” x384

Maybe I shouldn’t be reading other people’s blog comments, but for some reason I feel like it’s my duty to prevent the intellectual decline of the internet.

I decided to have tea instead of coffee this morning. Healthier? Maybe. Delightfully filled with cream and Splenda? No.

Too much fun with iMovie

2009-03-17T20:15:00.001-07:00

...but here's the grand tour!

Our latest obsession...

2009-03-15T21:22:00.005-07:00

You have to click on the pictures to see them in all their glory. Second time's the charm?

Floor Plan

Blah Blah Blah House

2009-03-12T09:27:00.002-07:00

Blah blah blah other offer accepted.

Blah Blah Blah LISTING AGENT! Grrr...

Blah blah something positive and hope-y.

Blah blah blah something sarcastic.

"Our" House

2009-03-06T14:58:00.002-07:00

I can’t pinpoint the exact moment that we started to talk about living with my parents. And not in a “crash in my old room until we can get our own place” kind of way, but intentionally choosing to share a space, share costs, live simply, and live together. It’s not a common decision, at least not in recent times, but we knew it was a good decision for us.

Reading Pride and Prejudice has romanticized the idea a bit for me. Visions of huge family estates in the country passed down from generation to generation make modern living seem so cheap and disposable.

Not that our little house in the burbs of Fort Collins could really be compared to an English estate (if the bank even approves the short sale), but the idea is the same. We’ll have a family home, a home made possible by previous generations and a home base for family scattered across the country.

I think about the people who made it possible for us to get to this place – my parents, my Grandma Jean (whose birthday would have been tomorrow) and my Grandpa Bill (who I never got to meet), my Grammy, and the rest of our family who always loved and supported us. I love the idea that it will be our house. And with any luck, the unconditional love and generosity of all of these individuals will continue to grow and thrive in this place.

Patience

2009-02-26T16:24:00.001-07:00

After reading my millionth “short sale” horror story, I’m trying to find my patient place. Sure we’d love to have a house, that house, and in about two months we’ll be apartment-less if some sort of action isn’t taken, but good things come to those who wait, right?

But the “not knowing” makes it hard to focus. All I can do is plan and re-plan the next 3 months, 6 months, year, 5 years, 10 years of our lives. Try to think of all of the possible counters the bank could make, and imagine how we’d react. Decorate rooms in my head and then try to detach myself from all of it. Wonder if our kid will ride their bike to the junior high on the bike path, and worry that they won’t wear a helmet. Try to picture what the house and the neighborhood will look like in 30 years, what we’ll look like in 30 years. In the grand scheme of things, what is 2 months of not knowing?

We commented last night that eventually our luck will have to run out. We have been so fortunate in every aspect of our lives – to have found each other, found this place we love living, found jobs in this place and to have always had a roof over our heads and amazing family and friends that support us. Can that really last? Should any two people be given so much? And if we only have a certain amount of luck left, is it right to waste it on a house, or should we hold on to it for all the other things left in life?

Some days I wish I could shut my brain off.

Wallflowers

2009-02-20T16:05:00.005-07:00

Neither Steve nor I like being the center of attention very much. If you watch some of the video from our wedding reception, this becomes painfully obvious. As we step out for our first dance, we both have pained looks on our faces. And I remember the conversation during that first dance. It was not, "I love you. This is amazing. First day of the rest of our lives, blah, blah, blah.” It was, “This is awkward! I hate this! Can people come dance with us now?”

This feeling extends to opening gifts, being the recipient of any sort of party or recognition, and delivering any kind of news that we know may bring with it a line of intense questioning. Neither of us is very good at defending our decisions, not because we don’t believe in them, but because the attention immediately drives us to this place of awkward misery that we can’t seem to climb out of.

“Why aren’t you eating bacon?”

“Umm… actually I don’t really eat meat.”

“Oh you’re one of those vegetarians. I don’t see how people can live that way. Why don’t you eat meat?”

“Uh… well, kind of environmental and animal rights reasons.”

“People have been eating meat for thousands of years! What do you even eat if you don’t eat meat? Do you think animals really have feelings? Do you think one person not eating steaks is going to save the world?”

“Never mind. Pass the bacon.”

Lately I’ve been trying to think of a good response to those lines of questioning that make me uncomfortable – where I’m forced to defend parts of my life that really don’t affect anyone but me, but it’s obvious that people have already made their judgments. My first thought was “F*** off!” Just crudely surprising enough to throw people off their game, but sadly not all that clever. “None of your business” is so cliché. “This is not a decision I have taken lightly, and I enter into it knowing full well the consequences, but I understand if it is not a choice you understand” is true, but it has no zip.

I guess that I’m at a loss and open for suggestions. In the meantime I guess I’ll just continue my awkward, half-assed explanations.

I'm sorry

2009-02-07T20:59:00.004-07:00

Rachel really wanted me to post a picture of her swollen tonsils. Probably one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen. Those juicy white spots are not normally there, thank God. Click on the picture for a closer look.

Work Stats

2009-02-05T10:51:00.002-07:00

Since I started my job on May 12, 2008…

…I have spent 173 days in the office, counting today.

…I have received more than 1,453 and sent more than 1,258 e-mails, archived in 46 folders and 65 subfolders.

…216 projects have been completed and billed by our office; 28 projects are currently open and assigned to designers.

…I have processed 111 display case reservations.

…I have attended 116 meetings/trainings.

On days when things are slow, I feel like it’s easy to forget all that I’ve done in the past 9 months. Looking at the numbers makes me feel a little better about what I’ve been able to accomplish. And best of all, I still really like my job.

Bad Friend

2009-01-29T16:52:00.003-07:00

So today, via Facebook, I saw pictures of my “best friend” from high school’s bridal shower. A bridal shower I knew nothing about for a wedding I know nothing about. A bridal shower that a lot of people I went to high school with appear to have attended. People I probably would have called my friends at some point.

It made me wonder why, when these people still seem to have such a bond, I have nothing to do with any of them anymore. And then it struck me that I'm kind of a bad friend.

I don’t keep in touch. Maybe it’s moving every 3 years while I was growing up, but I’ve always just kind of moved on – out of sight, out of mind. And if you expect me to call on the phone, just forget it.

I’m not good at sharing my feelings. If you can’t decipher how I feel about you through an endless monologue of sarcasm, I really don’t know how to help you.

I hold grudges. Don’t call me back Thanksgiving weekend after I called you? Hope you don’t expect to ever talk to me again.

I’m defensive. It’s not like anyone else did such a great job of keeping in touch. Why should I have to be the one to put in the effort?

The downside of this is that there are some good people, good friends, who aren’t a part of my life anymore. And while I’m happy with my life, and glad that every weekend isn’t like a mini high school reunion, there is a part of me that is sad that I won’t be there to see Terri get married.

P.S. - Just had to comment on the irony of this post sitting next to my Twitter badge that says "unless you're making fun of a third person who's also there. then it's hilarious!"

Too much or not enough?

2009-01-21T10:39:00.002-07:00

Usually my excuse for not blogging is that I don’t have enough to say because not much changes day to day. But in the past week or so, so much has happened/changed that I don’t really know where to start. Therefore, I’ll just throw it out randomly.

I’m 25 now (happy birthday to me). I really like the idea of 25. I feel young enough to see infinite opportunities ahead, but old enough to know that I have nothing to prove. I kind of hope I feel like this for the rest of my life.

Barack Obama is the President. I finally feel at home in my country, and hopeful for the future.

Going to Vegas for my birthday meant flying for the third time in three months. At this point I can have my shoes and jacket off, liquids out of my bag, and ID and boarding pass in hand in about 13 seconds. I’m looking forward to staying on the ground for at least a couple of months.

My parents are visiting in February, which means that we’ll have a reason to clean our apartment at least once this winter.

We’ve been in FoCo for almost 9 months now. Time has flown by! I really can’t imagine a better place to live, and honestly I’m a little amazed because we set our expectations for this place really high.

The Arizona Cardinals are in the Super Bowl. When I went to college, I didn’t know the Arizona Cardinals were a professional football team.

Prepping for GMATs has made it abundantly clear that neither of us remembers any math. We vaguely remember that you can do stuff to numbers to find other numbers, but don’t remember what that “stuff” is. Hopefully 4 weeks will be enough time to re-learn about 12 years worth of mathematical concepts.

When everything seems to be going so right like this, it makes me worry what kind of upset may be around the corner. But I guess all we can do is keep trying to make the best of everything we’re given.

Update

2009-01-14T08:58:00.002-07:00

Here is a more updated story on what went on next door.

The Great Blog Debate

2009-01-12T11:13:00.003-07:00

To blog or not to blog? This has been our question. Mostly because there's not really a lot of blogging going on here. For Steve's part, he seems to favor posting a political link or YouTube video about once every two months. I'm operating more on a random stream of consciousness blurt every few weeks. So is it worth keeping this up for the pretenses?

Maybe yes, maybe no. Ultimately my reasons are selfish. I like being able to look back over our lives in electronic form. Five years from now I'll want to look back and know what we were like at 25 (or 24 and 51 weeks). I'll want to know that we were obsessed with the OC about 5 years later than everyone else, that we were in the midst of a Twitter revolution that was no longer just first adopters (and second adopters like us who do things when Josh tell us to), that we were loving Colorado, feeling very independent and ready to take on the world, but also sometimes a little lonely and homesick, and that we're generally very content, with life and with each other.

And in the spirit of history, or maybe nostalgia, here are a few of my favorite posts to go back and read:

Untitled – Steve – 11/24/2002
Highlight: Rachel is already home for Thanksgiving so I got a dose of life without her. Boring yes, but it does allow an outlet to accomplish my guy things such as constant video games without the nagging. I am mostly joking, Rachel happens to be a very understanding girlfriend and only nags on occasion.

Being a Grown Up – Rachel – 01/18/2005

Highlight: Do adults just pretend they have it all together so that everyone younger than them won't panic? This has all just been too much thought for one day. Apparently I should exercise my legal rights and go get a beer and try to forget all of it.

negative one year anniversary – Steve – 05/20/2005
Highlight: Rachel observed a couple days ago that today is our negative one year anniversary for our wedding. To celebrate, we are going to go to the restaurant at the place we are going to be married and sample some food for the wedding.

mumbo jumo – Steve – 1/8/2006
Highlight: Rachel, Nate and I made a spontaneous trip to California. Much like Christian enthusiasts travel to walk in the footsteps of Jesus in Bethlehem, we wanted to walk in the footsteps of other gods. The cast of Laguna Beach. While no sightings occurred, I got to live like Talan for a day, except much pastier.

This is your brain on spring break – Rachel – 3/27/2006
Highlight: Last night, while talking about religion or nutrition or maybe something completely unrelated, Steve, Nate and I came up with the idea of low-carb communion. We floated around a few ideas on how we could change the ingredients, but decided meat was definitely out (I mean, who wants to hear "the body of Christ" when you're biting into a piece of steak). I'm not sure if this is sacrilege of a brilliant marketing idea...

popular demand – Steve - 4/23/2006
Highlight: 27 days left...

FAQ (you know you were asking them in your head) – Rachel – 5/23/2006

4. Since you finally tied the knot, have you and Steve gotten any less annoyingly adorable?

Sorry to disappoint, but our annoying adorable-ness actually seems to be increasing with time. Being newlyweds is just the icing on the cake.

change of heart – Steve – 12/23/2006
Highlight: I know how perturbed you all must have been when we decided to move back to Flagstaff. After all the bad things we used to say about the place, I decided to seek documentation of my criticisms. Sorting through all my archived posts, below are all the negative statements regarding Flagstaff. Enjoy the hypocrisy in no particular order...

Many Mini Blogs – Rachel – 1/22/2007
Highlight: The best part of being married besides all the being in love with Steve stuff is being an aunt. With the arrival of Zoe a week ago today, I have five nieces and nephews in all. (It bothers me that they don’t have a word that combines nieces and nephews like siblings does for sisters and brothers.)

The couple that blogs together... – Rachel – 4/26/2007
Welcome to the next phase of our disgustingly cute couple-dom (couple-hood? couple-ishness?). 341 days into our marriage, we have decided to take our relationship to the next level - joint blogging. In reality, I think we're just hoping that if we join forces, it will look like we blog more often even if we don't.

This is what happens when you procrastinate – Rachel - 1/25/2008
Highlight: I’m 24. I immediately sensed a newfound maturity and sophistication at around noonish on January 18. Then it dissipated at around 2 a.m. on January 19.

The Grandma Jean that I knew – Rachel – 8/29/2008
Highlight: I wish any of this brought any sort of closure but I think I’ll always have to remind myself that she’s not in Lincoln welcoming a visit when we can break away from our busy lives.

A year and a half of us – Rachel – 12/2/2008
Highlight:

I write more about Steve than he writes about me, or he writes a lot about himself in the third person.
"Eat" is very little, but we actually eat a lot.
"Time/Distance" shows up because apparently at one point in our lives we ran.
"Fun" is used far less often than "work."
The only names that show up are our own. We are some self-centered SOBs.

Ode to Alima Pure

2009-01-06T09:04:00.004-07:00

This post is about makeup. I’m sorry.

So usually buying makeup was something I’ve liked the idea of, but truly hated every time I got into the store. I’d sit on the floor of the aisle reading every ingredient and scanning for all the things that kill the world (check out Ingredients to Avoid ). Even most of the expensive brands were filled with cheap, toxic preservatives. I’d usually walk away with something that equated to expensive colored chalk. It was a vicious and frustrating cycle.

Then on Futurenatural, I happened to stumble upon Alima Pure. It’s more expensive than Bonne Bell, but a heck of a lot cheaper than most of the tree-hugger makeup you can find. And that was just the beginning…

Cruelty free and free of the things that give me neuroses – mainly parabens.
Sample products for $1!
For every $10 you spend, you get $1 off your next order.
Jar recycling – return 5 full sized jars and get a free eyeshadow.

So again, sorry, I know this sounds like one big ad. But when a company can worm it’s way into my heart (now it’s Alima, IKEA, and Target), I figured it deserved a mention in case anyone else was looking for environmentally-friendly, non-toxic makeup that actually worked well and came in pretty packaging.

Recap and resolutions

2008-12-31T11:56:00.003-07:00

Society has been telling me that today is the day when you come up with a list of your top [insert number here] [insert general category here] of 2008, and then go on to list [insert other number here] things that you plan to change in 2009. I’m not sure if there is some sort of punishment for non-compliance, but I figure I’ll be proactive just in case.

10 Things That Happened to Us in 2008

I got a new job.
We moved to Colorado.
Steve got a new job.
Steve got a new job.
We visited Phoenix.
We visited Las Vegas.
We turned 24 and 25.
We watched a ton of Tivo and Netflix.
We walked around in nature.
We ate pizza, burritos, and little else.

5 Things I Say I’ll Change in 2009

Take more pictures that have one or both of us in them. Someday we’ll want to show our kids what we looked like when we were young and adventurous.
Eat fruits and veggies. Burrito lettuce and pizza sauce don’t count.
Drink water, not soda. (Mmmm… soda.)
Reduce the level of crap Steve has to put up with from me just slightly.
Wear socks that in some way match my other clothing items (don’t really care much about that one, just noticed my blue socks are a bit obvious with my brown pants and shoes).

Also, I must be ready to put my husband through grad school this year. I’m thinking about writing a Lifetime movie about it. Less Chipotle: Rachel’s Story – The true story of a young woman who makes minor sacrifices for one calendar year while her husband gets an interesting and highly marketable degree.

Happy New Year!

Awesome.

2008-12-30T16:30:00.007-07:00

Why I live in a place with four seasons...

Steve’s not allowed to pick our Netflix anymore

2008-12-11T09:58:00.002-07:00

On Wednesday night we subjected ourselves to three episodes of the show Once and Again. Steve put the show on our queue because he “respects” Evan Rachel Wood as an “actress.” As far as I can tell the show is just hour after hour of dramatic, uncomfortable make-out sessions between 40-year-old people with uber-complicated divorces. Not my idea of a good time.

But the desire for those 2 hours and 15 minutes of my life didn’t upset me nearly as much as the dream I had Wednesday night after we watched it:

Steve told me that he was leaving me for Kayle (the college roommate who was the reason we met). I was shocked, and started to argue with him that he needed to stay with me. But the more I argued, the more he smiled, like “I’m so glad that I made this decision and will never have to deal with you again.”

Then I told him I was going to leave right then, thinking it would shock him into not letting me go. But again he smiled and happily started divvying up our stuff. He got our bamboo – the bamboo that was a housewarming gift for our first place more than five years ago – because it was from Michelle.

And then the real awfulness of the situation started to sink in for me. I was going to be alone, without a plant, while he lived with Kayle in our apartment with our stuff, and he was so happy about it.

I felt so relieved when I woke up, although it did take a second second to shake it all off. I put my head on Steve's shoulder and went back to sleep.

When I told Steve about it the next day he offered this helpful suggestion: “Next time you dream I’m leaving you, can it be for someone other than Kayle?”

Could I be any more socially awkward?

2008-12-08T16:20:00.001-07:00

No.

I'm the luckiest girl in the world

2008-12-05T15:39:00.001-07:00

Steve: awesome last name: Hogoboom

Me: yes, i like it

lol, let's change our name to that

Steve: ok

Rachel Hogoboom

It makes me picture exploding hookers which isn't great

me: exploding hookers?

oh like ho-go-boom

i was picturing exploding pigs

like hog-o-boom

Steve: no it's like a ghetto recap. then the ho go boom

me: lol, you can't do that while i'm at work

Steve: like a fitty cent song

Who was I kidding?

2008-12-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Three or four or five months ago, I purged my Google Reader. I was in one of those places I sometimes get into where I felt pathetic for reading celebrity gossip, daily accounts of people’s lives (people whom I’ve never met), and only occasional real news (at least about the election).

So I axed all of the personal blogs, the Perez Hilton, the Ecorazzi, etc. To fill the void I added in more green news, more election news, an indie craft blog, and some feeds that I thought might be more spiritually enlightening. At first it was refreshing. It forced me to sharpen my focus on issues I cared about. I convinced myself it was some kind of Reader intentional meditation.

But as time passed I found myself scrolling through these new feeds as quickly as I possibly could. I would never really read them. I’d sometimes look at the pictures. I didn’t want to hear about someone’s two hour a day yoga practice anymore. And just when I thought there couldn’t possibly be another post about green office furniture, there it was!

I started sneaking back to my old blogs, guiltily, in elaborate covert operations. Just one peek to catch up, I’d say, knowing full well I’d be delving deep into the archives. But I wouldn’t let myself enjoy it.

This week I finally gave in, I added back the personal blogs I missed plus a few others I discovered. What I came to realize is that in days filled with polite, superficial conversation, it’s invaluable to have access to a few people’s honest thoughts. So what if these people aren’t my friends or I haven’t known them for years? I think that only underscores the fact that there are these universal issues we all deal with, and it feels so nice to know you’re not alone.

A year and a half of us...

2008-12-02T15:41:00.002-07:00

The entirety of our blog in a Wordle.

The fact that the word "like" is the most used obviously goes to show that I'm like, totally, like a valley girl, like. Either that or I'm very deep and use a ton of thought provoking similes.

Other points to note:

I write more about Steve than he writes about me, or he writes a lot about himself in the third person.
"Eat" is very little, but we actually eat a lot.
"Time/Distance" shows up because apparently at one point in our lives we ran.
"Fun" is used far less often than "work."
The only names that show up are our own. We are some self-centered SOBs.

Be free, Gobbles!

2008-11-26T12:16:00.003-07:00

This is my symbolic turkey:

I have decided to name him Gobbles. This year we will not be eating Gobbles, even though I'm sure he is delicious. My whole family will be turkey free!

Instead we will be eating this:

It's made out of mycoprotein, which is a fancy way of saying fermented mold. However, it is actually quite tasty. Much better than Tofurkey.

Feel free to send condolences to my parents for having weird children.

Who does this?

2008-11-21T08:16:00.002-07:00

How gross is this? What was she thinking?

I didn't watch this with the sound on because I am at work but I suspect I don't care what she has to say.

Envy, pride, or one of those other deadly sins

2008-11-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

I wouldn’t describe myself as a competitive person. I’ve never punched somebody in a poker game and my (lack of) athletic abilities make it near impossible for me to compete seriously in any kind of sport. I’ve always believed in the “doing your personal best” philosophy of life, and that comparing yourself to others won’t tell you what kind of person you are. But recently one little issue has been gnawing away at me…

We are making serious preparations for Steve to return to grad school next fall. He’s figured out a path, and we’re ready to do what it takes to get him through. I’m really happy about this. It means good things for him, good things for us in the future, and I feel so fortunate that he has this opportunity.

I’m also thrilled that Bryan and Colleen are thinking of moving this way after the school year is over. I’m sure there are many “young professional” antics to be had before we all completely settle down into family life (I swear I’m getting to a point).

The problem with all of this is that I’ll be the only one left without a postgrad degree. It seems like everyone I know is in grad school, finishing grad school, or applying for some fabulous grad program. And despite knowing that I shouldn’t judge my self-worth based on whether or not I have a piece of paper with a state seal, I feel stupid. I picture a future where Steve has to cover the electrical outlets and keep me away from small, swallow-able objects because, “She might hurt herself. She only has a Bachelor’s degree.”

In my rational thoughts, I know this is silly because:

1. Some of the smartest and most interesting people I’ve ever known have had no degree at all.

2. The people that I surround myself with are a bit of a warped, over-achieving sample.

3. If at any point I decide I really want to go for my Master’s or PhD, there’s nothing standing in my way. I just have to decide for myself how many of my other life plans are worth putting on hold to keep up with the Joneses.

I’m sure eventually rational thinking will kick in a bit more. But for now I’m going to go sit in the corner and eat paste.

I guess I've found my new cause...

2008-11-11T10:05:00.001-07:00

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Dirty Socialists

2008-11-06T13:50:00.003-07:00

At peace

2008-11-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

-President-elect Barack Obama

I slept well last night. An overwhelming feeling of contentedness has filled me knowing that for the next four years (at least), I have faith in the person who will be leading our country. I have faith that he will take care of our people and our Earth. I have faith that the world is a better place because of the decision that was made last night. It will not be an easy transition, but I am filled with patience and perseverance.

The only dark spot on this historic night of breaking down barriers was the intolerance and prejudice shown by those who voted to strip away the civil rights of one segment of our population. This vote profoundly affects every citizen because it erodes this country’s founding principle that all men are created equal.

But if this election has taught me anything, it’s not to give up. I know now that together we can make a difference, and together our voices will be heard. I’m not giving up hope, and I will not be complacent.

This is just the beginning.

Election 2008

2008-10-28T10:10:00.002-07:00

Rachel and I wanted to poll our audience on who they will be voting for President of the United States. Feel free to explain your vote in the comments section below if you wish and just like in the real election you are only allowed one vote.

FOCOBAMA

2008-10-26T20:16:00.002-07:00

That's FOCO and Obama combined if you were wondering. This weekend was all about Obama. On Saturday, Zach Braff:

Today, after waiting in a 2 1/2 mile line, we finally got to see Obama himself (if we balanced on a tree and leaned our heads just right):

A lot of good people supporting a great cause. Our blurry photos coming soon on flickr.

Obama '08

Young's Gulch

2008-10-21T08:47:00.002-07:00

Over the weekend, Rachel and I went on a hike called Young's Gulch in Poudre Canyon (stop laughing Dennis) about 25 miles from our house. We did the same hike two weeks earlier and the Fall colors were a little more vibrant but I only had my camera phone which sucks as seen in the first picture below. The second picture is of the same hike but was taken this last weekend.

Go to our Flickr for more pictures of this hike (including the bones we found) and pictures of an earlier hike at RMNP and our groovy Tour de Fat costumes.

Democracy in Action

2008-10-20T12:09:00.001-07:00

We voted today at lunch. I think I checked my ballot about 15 times to make sure that I had really marked that circle next to Obama/Biden. We both opted for paper over electronic ballots. If someone’s going to sabotage our precinct's results, they’ll at least have to destroy some evidence.

Now all we can do is cross our fingers and know that we’re in good company.

What Steve and I will look like...

2008-10-10T09:30:00.003-07:00

...if we don't start riding our bikes to work!!!

My plea…

2008-09-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had this sinking feeling about the election. Not that it wouldn’t go the way I wanted it to, necessarily, but that it would be decided by people whose only source of information about candidates will be the (often untrue and misleading) television ads that they run or mean speculation by talking heads. And what really irritated me about this was that there wasn’t much I could do about it. Sure I could go door to door trying to provide more accurate information about the candidates I support and their positions. But if people willfully choose to be ignorant on the issues, there is nothing I can do to combat that.

This morning I am again trying to build hope by issuing a challenge to everyone, hopefully a challenge that will be passed on by my friends and family to their friends and family and colleagues. Do your own research for this election, and do it thoroughly. Get beyond “hope” and “lipstick” and “POW” to look at the candidate’s histories, records, and the policies they’ve outline for the future. Find out what a community organizer is. And beyond the candidates, research your ballot initiatives and what they mean for your community. And as a final request – when you’re researching these things, try to think beyond how they would affect your personal bottom line. Remember to show love for one another, even with your vote. "There is enough in the world for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed." –Frank Buchman

When you go to the polls, feel confident in your decisions, knowing you’ve done your best to bring about brighter future for our country.

I know we’ve been putting up a lot of political posts lately, but it’s because it is personal and does affect our lives and the major life decisions that we make (jobs, kids, buying a house, whether living in another country is a good option for us).

So in conclusion, research, learn, debate, discuss, and then, hopefully…

VOTE OBAMA ‘08

Guggenheim Hall @ CSU

2008-09-17T11:47:00.002-07:00

Starting Oct. 6, 2008, this will be my new 8-5 home.

Hopefully I won't have to be there too late after dark because the place looks haunted.

The Truth

2008-09-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

[Fighting the lack of] HOPE

2008-09-12T09:32:00.002-07:00

This morning I wish I could agree with my dad that it will be some neo-conservative conspiracy that will keep a right-wing, fundamentalist government in power that only benefits the wealthiest and greediest Americans. But after some of the things I’ve heard in the past few days, I think it is racist and fearful American voters who will stop progress and prevent an era of hope, quality of life, and compassion.

The first blow to my naiveté came from a story from my mom about a volunteer she knows, who despite agreeing with all of Obama’s policies, just can’t bring herself to vote for a black man. She said it’s just the way she was raised – she never interacted much with “them.” Following that came a story on NPR about race as a factor in the election. At first everyone said they had no racial biases, but through the discussion it became clear that they did.

I’m not voting for Barack Obama because of his race. I would not vote against someone because of their race. I’m voting for the candidate that I think could create the kind of future I want to see in this country – a future where everyone has equal opportunities.

In the same vein, I would not vote for the McCain/Palin ticket because Palin is a woman. Any candidate who hunts animals from airplanes, fights to get polar bears off the endangered species list, has an agenda that includes banning books and replacing comprehensive sex education with abstinence-only education (even with a pregnant teenage daughter at home), left a town of 7500 with a $22 million debt after coming into office with a balanced budget, and considers our occupation of Iraq as a mission from God is not the candidate I want representing me. And McCain picking this governor for his running mate has made it clear once and for all that he is not a maverick – he is another Republican candidate pandering to the far-right, Evangelical Christian, single-issue voters.

One more note on Governor Palin: May I remind you that the last time we voted for a likable yokel from a big oil state we got 8 years of W?

Vote Obama.

Hold me!

2008-09-03T14:55:00.001-07:00

Since we moved to FoCo, I think we had this unspoken bond that we would not drop the F-bomb (Flagstaff, of course, for those of you with dirty minds). We refused to miss it, we would not talk about it, we would continue to list all of the reasons why our new city was infinitely better than the one we had left.

And for the most part it’s really true – we sat on this big grassy hill overlooking a lake filled with Canadian geese which is just a couple of miles from our apartment and couldn’t believe how excited we had gotten about a 20x100 yard expanse of flat grass behind our apartments in Flag. We have great shopping, great restaurants, great parks, close mountains, and the actual realistic prospect of someday buying a house.

But it was silly to think that we wouldn’t miss our little Arizona mountain city – the city where we met, the city where we first lived together, the city where we had our first fajita/margarita night, the city where we made such good friends who we could sit around talking with in coffee shops or at the Wine Loft or playing Frisbee.

This is not my big, “We’re moving back to Flagstaff” post, in case that’s what you were wondering. We’re happy here, I like my job, I like the college, being an hour from RMNP is pretty sweet, and our -4 year old loves the parks and good schools. But there are still the Thursday nights where I dream about going to Barnes & Noble with Bryan and Colleen, wish we could go play pool with Becca and Kevin, or meet for drinks at the Wine Loft with people from Steve’s work.

So I guess what I’m saying is sometimes I’m a little homesick. And I wish everyone I knew was independently wealthy so we could just spend all of our time visiting each other.

Quite the list...

2008-09-02T07:37:00.003-07:00

The Grandma Jean that I knew…

2008-08-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sitting in her memorial service and going through her things made me realize how little I knew about my grandma. I didn’t know the woman who exchanged funny, flirty anniversary cards with her husband, was an excellent seamstress, and an impressive musician. To me she was always just my grandma, and the things that I’ll remember about her are much different:

• At Christmas and Easter, the notes that came from Santa or the Easter bunny were a squiggly version of her handwriting (obviously carefully disguised).

• At her house we would always eat peanut butter and jelly on wheat bread with carrot sticks and apple slices and fewer chips than either of us would have liked (eating crusts, especially on wheat bread, was slightly horrifying at the time).

• When she would babysit us, she would be the pitcher when we would play with the Snoopy baseball set. When it was too late to play outside, we would play Yahtzee.

• She could easily trade joking (or at least half joking) insults with my dad.
SIDENOTE: My only social skill - starting conversations with something sarcastic and inappropriate - came from my dad. So I’ll blame him for implying that my cousin was on drugs in front of the minister. But that’s another post for another time…

• We would try on my Mom’s wedding dress in the yellow room (my mom’s old room) where she kept all of her old formal dresses. We would sit at the vanity and look at ourselves in all the different lights on the makeup mirror.

• In her house she had a pink bathroom and always had Aquafresh toothpaste which was the best because it was stripe-y. She also had a plastic cuticle pusher that I thought was very cool even though I had no idea what it really did.

• She would pay us 10 cents for every acorn we picked up in her yard.

• She would let us play with Mom’s old dolls, Debby and Cathy

• She would let us drink out of the brightly colored aluminum cups that were in the “bar” in the basement.

• We would put on fabulous roller skating shows on her driveway.

• When we stayed at her house for long periods of time, we would get to watch As The World Turns with her.

• She always made sure that we were taken care of – fed, clean, clothed, and equipped with the resources to take up any opportunity that came our way.

• She was practical and strong. She loved us, and we loved her.

I wish any of this brought any sort of closure but I think I’ll always have to remind myself that she’s not in Lincoln welcoming a visit when we can break away from our busy lives.

Censor This!

2008-08-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

To Heal the Wounded

Do they make a medication for this?

2008-08-04T09:58:00.002-07:00

So normally I like to think of myself as a pretty logical person. Hopefully not like the clueless FBI agent/CIA agent/police officer/museum curator/professor in the movies that is always saying, “But this can’t be! I’m sure of it!” right before the alien/killer pandemic/ghost/prehistoric curse offs them (after all, I have seen all seven seasons of Buffy at least 4 times plus the first graphic novel). But in general, I think I’m fairly level-headed.

But my normally logical thinking completely breaks down with my belief in some weird karmic scorecard where the universe is constantly weighing everything I say or do and altering our lives because of it. And not in systematic ways, like if you try hard and think positively things will work out. No it’s like a guessing game of random events that I’m sure will determine our fate.

Take for instance, the potential of Steve working here on campus. Everything I say about it, think about it, and even completely non-related events affect, in my mind, the chances of this happening. If I mention it too many times, then we want it too badly and the universe will teach us a lesson. If I don’t mention it enough, then we don’t want it badly enough and it will go to someone else who wanted it the proper amount. Since Becca got her job in Flagstaff, maybe that means that the universe will be balanced by Steve not getting his. Maybe me running into another advisor he would work with is a positive sign, or maybe the fact that I didn’t ride my bike to work enough this week will result in punishment.

Flying is another one that gets me. If I don’t worry at all about flying will the universe try to be ironic and make that the time the plane goes down? Or if I worry too much will I project negative mojo on the plane and make it worse than if I were thinking positively? How can I possibly keep the perfect balance of positive and negative thoughts that are obviously the only thing keeping the plane in the air?

After reading this post, my mom will be thinking that I need more to do. It’s probably true.

But whatever your idea of positive thinking, praying, altering karma, could you please try to do it for Steve to get the job here? Maybe your system will work better than mine.

(Too bad this blog post will do no good since my hope that Steve gets his job is semi-selfish and the universe only rewards completely altruistic thought. Foiled me again, universe!)

Religion Quiz

2008-07-11T11:49:00.003-07:00

Rachel and I have battled with whether or not to attend a church for as long as we have been a couple. Rachel has many good memories of growing up in a church with positive social, spiritual and educational aspects but it was also flawed. I on the other hand don't have as many fond memories so I have been skeptical about trying again since day one. One major obstacle for us is the fact that we are crazy treehugging socialists so finding a church that matches our view on social issues can be difficult but nevertheless remains an area of curiosity.

Rachel and took a quiz today to determine which belief system best suites each of us. I was listed as 100% Secular Humanist which was not a tremendous surprise because most questions on the multiple choice quiz offer an "I don't know" option. Nevertheless, I question where secular humanists come together for social gatherings and enlightenment. I have always thought a church or some institution should exist with the sole purpose of supporting a quest for higher learning while discussing many modern issues even spirituality. I decided that I should start my own called the Gathering of Secular Humanists or GoSH. The irony of this acronym is not lost on me. Gosh is a word used to replace God, so too would GoSH the institution.

I am having fun here and by no means wish to offend anyone nor do I have any real intention to start a Gathering of Secular Humanists. Besides, such institutions already exists. They are referred to as state universities.

I am curious to see what the quiz identifies as your belief system. If you care to share, list your top 3 in the comment section. My top 3 are:

1. Secular Humanist (100%)
2. Unitarian Universalist (97%)
3. Tie between Liberal Quaker and Theravada Buddhism (92%)

Bike Route 2

2008-06-27T08:13:00.003-07:00

I want to start by mentioning how proud I am of Rachel for riding her bike to and from work all this week to participate in Bike to Work Week. While I did go along with her, I didn't have to work an 8 hour day in between rides.

On my way back home from riding to work with Rachel this morning I decided to take another new trail back home. I am pretty excited because it was awesome and beautiful. It is similar to the other one but it went along the side of the Gardens on Spring Creek (kind of a designated botanical garden and greenhouse area) and the creek itself. It went by homes I hope to live in some day, more natural areas, Rolland Moore Park and Spring Canyon Park which is Rachel's and my favorite.

I didn't have the camera with me so no pictures but I will try to remember next time. Also, I realized that I have never mapped Rachel's commuter route so I will do that next.

FoCo Bike Trail 2
Find more Bike Rides in Fort Collins, Colorado

On being too darn good (diddly)…

2008-06-25T09:16:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we went to the Mets/Rockies game in Denver and sat in the “Rock Pile.” Basically cheap seats in the outfield, but really not bad for $4. Unfortunately the Mets lost (the only game they lost of the series), so Steve was in a rather intense place. Never mad (have you met Steve?), just quiet.

This gave me a lot of time to listen to the conversations going on behind us. It was a group of people a couple years out of college (so basically our age) who had chosen a much different path. Beyond their very clever insults of “You suck Mets!” and “Go back to New York!” they had some interesting conversations that I observed like Jane Goodall would observe apes. Here’s a sample.

Guy: So what do you do?
Girl: I’m a broker.
Guy: Like a stock broker?
Girl: Kind of. I’m in training for Charles Schwab.
Guy: So do you have a lot of clients?
Girl: Right now I kind of just answer questions on the phone.
Guy: Like cold calls?
Girl: No, just regular calls.
Guy: How’s your portfolio?
Girl: Not very extensive yet.
Guy: Yeah, mine’s not that big yet either.

Girl: I need to get a dog tag with my address on it.
Guy: Why?
Girl: So when I get drunk people know where to send me. I have a friend who does that.
Guy: He’s a tool.
Girl: Yeah, but I need it. I get so drunk.
Guy: Yeah.
Girl: Want to go to Bash tonight? (Blah blah blah, something about 4 a.m., hangover, haha, very funny)

At first, I’m like “Can you believe these idiots are our age?” Then I started to wonder if there was some part of our youth we were missing out on. Do normal 24 year olds go to bed around 10 every night and wake up early on Saturday to go the farmer’s market? Do they consider eating cheese a semi-sinful treat? Do they drink decaf with soy milk and Splenda? I bet they wear leather shoes and shorts and tank tops. Maybe I shouldn’t have worn my cardigan and fanny pack.

It made me miss our friends in Flagstaff, who by staying out past 11 and sometimes even going out on a weeknight kept me from feeling like an 85 year old shut-in. Sure I’m never going to be a drunken club girl in designer clothes, but it was nice to go to a laid back bar and eat cheese fries and make jokes with a big group of people. Hopefully we’ll be able to find that here soon.

Recap & Pictures

2008-06-16T13:50:00.009-07:00

This weekend Rachel and I made a quick trip to Lincoln, Nebraska. Grandma Jean was a great host and it was nice to visit with the James family and more. I wasn't very good at taking pictures (only two).

I met Rachel for lunch again today and decided to take the same trail home I posted a few days ago. This time I brought a camera. The photos didn't upload in the appropriate order but for the most part they are grouped together. If some look a little off, keep in mind, many of these photos were taken while riding (I was careful).

Bike Route

2008-06-12T13:46:00.004-07:00

Below is the bike route I took after having lunch with Rachel today. It was awesome. It was completely paved and went through natural areas, along rivers and creeks, and through parks and neighborhoods. I was exhausted because it was 9.5 miles and that was after riding from home to CSU to meet Rachel and then from CSU to the Library where I picked up a bike trails maps and the below map begins.

P.S. I love mapmyrun.com

Fun FoCo Bike Trails
Find more Bike Rides in Fort Collins, Colorado

Living in the Now

2008-06-11T09:43:00.001-07:00

I’ve blogged before about my complete and total inability to live in the present moment. I often find my thoughts drifting through our plans which end somewhere around, “And by then our kid(s) will be out of the house, based on the current projections for my 401(a), we’ll be able to retire 2.5 years early even with five years subtracted to stay home with the child(ren), the mortgage will be close to paid off and we can decide whether we want to downsize and use that money to travel. Maybe I should check on flight prices to Europe for April 2047.”

I know there are some good things about having a basic direction in life, but this is just not right. Especially scary is the desire to skip some parts of life to get to that moment where we finally have everything, a la that movie with that actor who I have no respect for after “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.” It’s easy to start thinking, “If we could just skip three years ahead, we’ll be in this really perfect situation…”

Also frightening is that planning so far ahead makes it feel like we’re so much older than we are. Thoughts like, “Enrolling full time in grad school? I don’t know… I’d be there with all those 23 year olds,” are a lot more common than they should be.

When I’m able to clear my mind of all of the pressures to be “something” already, I’m really happy with where we’re at. I really like my job, I love hanging out in all these cool new places with Steve, and we’re living pretty comfortably. So maybe at 24 we’re not CEOs with 2.3 kids, a big house with a white picket fence, and a vacation home on Martha’s Vineyard. And that’s OK.

As the wise Buffy the Vampire Slayer said, “I'm cookie dough. I'm not done baking. I'm not finished becoming who ever the hell it is I'm gonna turn out to be. I make it through this, and the next thing, and the next thing, and maybe one day, I turn around and realize I'm ready. I'm cookies.”

Maybe by the time I’m 40 I’ll be cookies. Until then, I’m going to try to enjoy the ride.

Socially Awkward

2008-06-06T13:39:00.001-07:00

In a lot of ways it has been great having Steve at home. He brings me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and we have yet to end up with a 5 foot tall pile of dishes in our sink. However, the only problem with our current roles is that I, as the one who goes out into the world and sees people, should probably be the one making us some friends.

However, I am a complete social misfit reject loser. I’m polite, but I think that is where my social skills end. The worst part is, I have a pretty good idea what I could do to fix this. Repeatedly in my head I think, “Ask people what they’re doing this weekend! Ask about their families! Share something small and neutral about your personal life, like ‘I like cookies!’” But then I get the other voice that says, “I can’t just say stuff out of the blue, it will be awkward. I’ll sound forced and weird and stupid. I suck!” I don’t think its schizophrenia because neither voice has an accent.

And this weekend a co-worker invited me to a BBQ for his daughter’s birthday. Of course I over-thought it until I couldn’t possibly go. “He’s just doing it be polite. It doesn’t look like anyone else from work can go. If I show up, I’ll just stand awkwardly in a corner somewhere. And we’ll have to explain we’re vegetarians. And what if his daughter doesn’t like books and we get her a book for a birthday present and then they think we’re weird reading-pushing people? Or if what if we buy a toy that was painted in China and they think we’re awful people?” So instead, we’re probably going to Denver by ourselves…

Once Steve is working, I fully anticipate that we’ll make friends. Because if someone invited him for BBQ, he’d say “Cool.”

You can visit during any season...

2008-04-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

Yikes!

2008-04-14T13:22:00.001-07:00

So our lives completely changed over the weekend. I think that everyone who is supposed to be informed in a non-blog fashion has been informed, so it’s probably safe to talk about. On Friday I was offered a job in Colorado and accepted it, which means that we will be moving 800 miles away very shortly. It’s a step up for me, and it would mean living in another beautiful college town in the mountains - but one that is a lot more affordable.

Now we’re working on making all of our arrangements - moving truck rentals, apartments, utilities, etc. And we both had to officially tell our respective employers today, so it’s been a little stressful. Luckily most people have been really supportive which is important when you make life-altering decisions on a very short timeline.

Of course there will be tons of things we’ll miss - being within driving distance of family being the biggest - but we’re also excited for an adventure and a new place to explore.

I’m sure there will be more to come, but for the last few weeks we’ve been hesitant to say anything because apparently I’m uber-superstitious and though talking about this job like it might actually happen would guarantee that it wouldn’t.

So yeah, I think that’s all. Carry on.

Ruining our unborn child(ren)…

2008-03-24T17:04:00.000-07:00

For any of you who have been living under a rock, or somewhere without WiFi, Steve and I are big planners. Or maybe just big discussers. We like to talk about everything related to the future and get each other’s perspectives to see if we can come to some kind of agreement before whatever the said is event actually happens. This works for things like which high school we would like our kid to go to, or what the best retirement living option is for us. I’m not very good at “living in the now.”

Holidays and the way we will celebrate with our child has been one subject of a lot of debate. Me being idealistic (insane), I really want to only celebrate holidays that truly have some meaning to us and avoid imparting right-wing, conservative Christian concepts just as an easy excuse to eat chocolate.

This has led me to scour Amazon for the perfect “who Santa really was” book, and to float the concept of thinking of Easter as a time to really examine new life and what life means, rather than as the day our holy Lord and Savior literally rose from the dead and gave chocolate eggs to all the children.

As Michelle said, as far as religion goes we’re “free agents” right now. I don’t think I’ve found that one organized religious group that completely aligns with how I feel the spiritual side of life to be. I do hope we’ll be able to create meaningful and fun holidays for our kid even if they’re not as traditional. Or maybe we’ll buckle and you’ll see Steve carrying around the baby Jesus in his Santa suit singing “Here We Come a Wassailing.”

Obama!

2008-02-29T13:20:00.002-07:00

I will be the first to admit that I am a sucker for emotional appeals made by famous people.

Dreaming of the Living Dead

2008-02-26T09:41:00.003-07:00

So last night I had a dream that went something like this...

Brittany and I were going to a party. Not like a crazy college party, but more like a First Friday artsy store kind of party. I think Steve was there too, but I'm not completely sure. Anyway, there was a lot of little cocktail-type food set out, and I started to notice that when people ate any meat dish (but mostly chicken wings) they became zombies, for a few minutes. Not crazy vicious zombies, but they did have a taste for human flesh. These meat eating zombies would nibble on the people around them - necks, arms, fingers - then a few minutes later they'd return to normal. My arm was slowly eaten away before I made a break for the bathroom only to find - that's right - more zombies. I remember thinking that I was lucky I didn't eat meat so I wouldn't be one, but the flip side was that I'd be dead and eventually the other zombies would just go back to normal.

I blame falling asleep to commercials about 30 Days of Night and seeing the preview for Undead or Alive on some movie we rented.

Any other interpretations?

New Feature

2008-02-14T15:39:00.005-07:00

I decided to join the Twitter craze because I am never going to have the patience to write a blog post but a least this way I can write quick little updates about what's going on in my world and in my head. Look to the right to check it out.

Rachel will be joining soon...

Anticlimatic

2008-02-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

Steve and I voted early on Friday just to make sure we got our ballots in. We knew today might be busy, and that voting on our lunch hour could be difficult. And, I know this sounds terriby prejudiced, but our polling place was a baptist church and I thought our ballots might get "lost" if we turned them in there.

I'm glad that we had the option to vote early, but it's a little sad not to feel like a part of Super Tuesday. Very little rallying and/or camaraderie for the people who vote early.

But still better than a caucus in my opinion.

The work of our student new media team...

2008-01-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

Go to nau.edu/plaid for their work and my crummy template-driven web design.

This is what happens when you procrastinate…

2008-01-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

A lot of half-assed blogging that is intended to communicate everything I meant to blog about in the past 9 days or so.

I’m 24. I immediately sensed a newfound maturity and sophistication at around noonish on January 18. Then it dissipated at around 2 a.m. on January 19.

On the night of my birthday I bowled (terribly), danced to Zowie Bowie, ate spicy noodles with shrimp, and was chauffeured around in two different BMWs. It was all a little more than we simple folk from the north country could take. But I did have fun.

On Saturday night, I requested Portobello burgers with sweet potatoes au gratin. I learned that I did not like Portobello burgers, but I’m taking baby steps toward eating like a normal person. Dinner was followed up with angel food cake and cookie dough ice cream.

On Sunday, we walked around the new Palazzo on the Strip. We ate at Maggiano’s at the Fashion Show Mall, and managed to catch a fashion show with this year’s Miss American contestants. It was thrilling. Then we headed over to Love, which is amazing. At the end I felt kind of speechless. I think I’d need to see it about six more times to take it all in, but it was beautiful.

Thanks to my parents, Steve, Nate, and everyone else who made my birthday so special.

This week at work has been crazy busy. Making up for taking a four-day weekend is killer. I’m hanging in there with the help of Steve and Gilmore Girls re-runs.

Mad Men is so rampantly sexist it almost hurts to watch.

There’s a lot going on right now that firmly contradicts my need to know exactly what is going on and exactly what will happen in the future. It’s making my brain hurt and my skin bad.

I heart baseball

2008-01-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

Every baseball season it's the same. When spring training rolls around I am giddy about the return of baseball games. I say games because baseball in spirit never stopped. Not in my life. This is because I read baseball blogs (specifically Mets blogs) on a daily basis. I am so obsessed with one in particular, mestblog.com, that whenever I open a web browser- whether to check my email or do anything else, I instinctively start typing metsblog.com into the address bar when I have no intention on going there. It has become habit like locking the door when you go to the bathroom or saying hello when you answer the phone. It really is sick. During down time at work, I could easily check the site every 5 minutes to see if there is anything new. During the off-season, I am most interested to see if any major trade or free agent signing has occurred. Currently I am following a soap opera like storyline of will they or won't they trade for Johan Santana or will he stay with the Twins or go to the Yankees (heaven forbid) or the Red Sox.

The best part of all is that I probably watch only 5-7 of the 162 Mets games during the regular season. Not because I don't want to but because I don't pay 150 dollars to get unlimited games on MLB.com and because Rachel would shoot me. So the majority of my obsession is reading box scores and off season transactions or non-transactions, not actually watching or even (gasp) playing the sport. And my favorite team resides in a place that I have never been and have no family ties. I would claim Alex but he is more Yankees fan than Mets fan.

I have considered that I could have more productive hobbies that may benefit some underprivileged population but when I hear the crack of the bat or, better yet, read about it hours later, I cannot resist because I HEART BASEBALL.

How did I live my whole life without knowing this?

2008-01-09T16:09:00.001-07:00

Apparently I am an INTJ. Click here or here or here if you care what that means. I can see some of it, but it doesn't include my crippling fear of ordering pizza, so I'm taking it with a grain of salt. Although, if it's true I'm on a very, very wrong career path.

Sidenote: Does it bother anyone else that "challenges" is misspelled on that second link?

Belated Christmas 2007 Recap

2008-01-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

This last Christmas might be my most favorite post childhood Christmas. I have finally come to grips that it will never quite be the same as when you were a child except possibly when we live vicariously through our own children. We also got to host Christmas this year in a non desert climate, my first. As usual the holiday season got started on the right foot with a pre-Christmas party at my mom's house with the ever growing Phoenix crew. Below is a picture of my mom's house and one failed attempt to take a good indoor picture.

On Christmas Eve, Rachel and I ascended to Flagstaff to host the Hanna's, or Mark and Mary, or Mom and Dad H. (haven't quite gotten there yet) for the remainder of the holiday. Below are pictures of our finely decorated digs.

We enjoyed a little less than a weeks worth of food (mmmm Tofurky), cold weather, pool, Christmas movies, not so Christmas movies (I am McLovin) and much needed relaxation.

Thank you to everyone that contributed to a very merry Christmas satisfying our commercial (gifts, gifts and more gifts) and Zen (fun, food, family and relaxation) needs.

Three days in a row of bloggy goodness…

2008-01-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

Last night I had a dream that there was something good or special I got to do ONLY because I was younger than 24. I think it involved getting to be some kind of creative director where they needed someone 23 or younger to be in touch with “the youth.” I stood up in whatever meeting it was and said, “I’m not 24 yet,” and people exchanged smiles and then it was obvious that I would get this great job or role or however it worked.

In 14 days, I’ll no longer be able to get this dream promotion. I think I’m a little scared because I was always felt like an old person in a young person’s body. But now I’m starting to realize that eventually I’ll be an old person in an old person’s body.

Contributing to my paranoia - Jenna Fisher’s old person make up in Walk Hard. I was sitting in the theater thinking, “It’s Pam! And she’s old! Someday she’ll really look like that! And when she does I’ll look like that!”

I know I have some time before I need to start scouting retirement homes, so I plan to at least make sure that this birthday is celebrated fairly immaturely.

They should give us a badge or something…

2008-01-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

New Year’s Eve was fabulous for the most part. We had appetizers at Maloney’s and played Taboo at the Wine Loft with Bryan and Colleen. At midnight, we watched the pinecone drop as has become our tradition. You would not believe how many people fill the streets to watch this big metal pinecone drop about 8 feet.

After the crowd dispersed I was craving a pita, so we wandered over to the Pita Pit. On the way in, Bryan and Colleen got held up by a mob of kids trying to hold up their severely drunk friend. This guy was bad off. He hit the ground, they pulled him up and he kind of fell on to Bryan before he and Colleen made it in the door. We grabbed the only open barstools by the window and continued to monitor the chaos.

Most of the mob left and the guy sat down on a bench with one girl holding him up. Inevitably, after about 15 seconds he starts vomiting gratuitously - orange, liquidy, and instantly freezing on the sidewalk. The girl is trying to hold him up, but she can’t handle his weight and he falls onto the sidewalk and continues puking. At this point, the girl RUNS INSIDE THE PITA PIT AND HIDES, and the guy is left just lying on the concrete, shaking, as people step over him and walk past.

So I look at Steve and say, “Someone needs to get help,” and Steve heads out to grab the police officers. The police come and order Steve to wait across the street in the freezing cold. For 15 minutes we watch the police hold this guy still and he shakes and throws up. Finally, the ambulance shows up, the paramedics strap him to a board, and he's off to hopefully get the help he needs. In the middle of all of this, the girl "friend" sneaks out the restaurant covering her face. Eventually Steve makes it back in, but at this point, I’m not really feeling a pita.

Sidewalk Drunk Boy, if you’re reading this, make your New Year’s resolution to lay off the booze and look for some new friends.

The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See

2008-01-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

Yet suitable for children of all ages.

These are the kind of simple arguments I can get behind.

[Expletive Deleted] [Expletive Deleted] [Expletive Deleted] Work

2008-01-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

So after 11 blissful days off, being back at work is excruciatingly painful. Just the thought of being back at work turned me into a miserable, moping thing in a bathrobe and slippers for the majority of yesterday. And after drinking some of my Anxiety Tea (a Christmas gift from Becca who understands that I'm insane), I was a sleepy, moping thing in a bathrobe and slippers.

I wish every day that I could find a little more apathy because my doormat mentality is not serving me well at work. I don't think anyone would say that I'm a bad employee or a bad person, but the fear of being labeled as such keeps me from ever standing up for myself.

It's not an excuse for not speaking up, but I do fail to see how it is my responsibility to coax some of my superiors into behaving like decent human beings, showing a little consideration of others, and accepting some responsibility. If I can do it, they can do it. And they should be able do it without me having to fight tooth and nail for every inch.

For a good cause, I will fight my hardest and stand my ground, but for myself, I just can't do it.

"I believe you have my stapler..."

Make up my mind

2007-12-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about the 2008 presidential race and who I would like to support as my candidate of choice. Every candidate seems to have a different issue that they have decided is most pressing yet I still don't know where my priorities are so I am asking you to help. I want you to tell me which candidate (or candidates if you are undecided between two) you hope to be president and why. Republican or Democrat, I want to know why it is that you think this person will be the best one to run the country.

Ready...set...go!

Shucks Paw, ain't you so proud?

2007-12-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

5-year-old descendant of Davy Crockett kills bear

"I was up in the stand and I seen the bear," Tre Merritt said. "It came from the thicket and it was beside the road and I shot it."

At first, Mike Merritt didn't think Tre had hit the bear with his youth rifle.

"I said, 'Tre, you missed the bear,' " Mike Merritt said. "He said, 'Paw-paw I squeezed the trigger and I didn't close my eyes. I killed him."'

The bear turned out to be 445 pounds — 12 times the weight of Tre. Mike Merritt said tears rolled down his cheeks when he found out his grandson killed the enormous bear.

Tre Merritt's father said he began teaching his son to shoot when he was just 2 ½ years old, and said Tre killed three deer last year.

Tears, really? If you take the time to watch the video, you can find out what he hopes to kill next.

And growing up continues to suck...

2007-12-10T16:21:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend the professor I would have easily picked as my favorite professor in all of college died. She had been hospitalized with liver and kidney failure and then died from complications of pneumonia. She was young. She had two small kids.

I had her for three classes. I loved that she was a very no-nonsense teacher with a great sense of humor. She didn't give anything a false sense of grandeur, but she could explain things so well.

I went to a Christmas party at her house in Munds Park my junior year. She invited all of her students to her house and had cider and cookies and I'm pretty sure she even made a ham dinner.

She was young. She had two young kids, or at least they were still in elementary school. At the Christmas party her son took a liking to me and she would always joke in the rest of her classes about how he missed me.

This semester I suggested that my supervisor work with her and her classes on a PR project. She was hospitalized about five weeks ago and another teacher had to take her classes.

The thing that bothers me the most about this is that if I wasn't working here, I never would have known. I would have had my happy memories of her classes and her family and her, and it never would have been tainted with this sick feeling that I have right now. I can't help feeling like I'm a little bit stuck in a part of my life that should have already reached its natural conclusion.

I wish I would have thanked her for making school more tolerable. I hope her kids are ok and have good people in their lives to get them through this time. I don't know what other good thoughts to think at this point.

And we thought Ted Danson was a big deal

2007-12-05T09:28:00.000-07:00

Ellen DeGeneres is coming to NAU on Friday!

Where will I be while she is filming in the dorm right outside my office? I will be in Tempe for a conference. Lucky me!

A Very Pottery Barn Christmas

2007-12-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

Steve and I started decorating for Christmas over Thanksgiving weekend. We have a tree with white lights and deep red and soft gold ornaments. Our new mantle has stocking holders that spell out PEACE, a vase of cranberry branches, and a small wooden, one-piece nativity. It's beautiful, but I had to agree when Steve said, "I always thought I'd be more of a fun decorator for Christmas."

Our place feels a little bit like stepping into a Crate and Barrel catalog (or a Target rip-off of an Crate and Barrel catalog). It's simple, neutral with a few bright accent pieces, sparse wall decorations, and only one photo displayed in the whole apartment. It's definitely the clean, simple, zen look we were going for.

It's a huge contrast to my room in high school. Anything that could be thumbtacked to a wall was displayed proudly, including shopping bags, posters, photos of my friends, and the shorts that Tom Delonge signed at OBC. My comforter was covered with monkeys and palm trees, and I had a collection of tacky, beach-themed items including my prized pink flamingo clock. And the best part was that every morning I woke up to my boys:

Now it definitely didn't look like your typical Pottery Barn Teenage Girl Room A, but it was mine and I loved it. Every part of it, good or bad, was a reflection of me.

Maybe that's why I blog now. I'm sure Steve wouldn't be super keen on waking up to Mark, Tom, and Travis, but I do have this virtual space that is mine to express myself authentically, even if it's a little raw sometimes. Good or bad, it's a reflection of me. And just like my room, I don't care if it's what other people think it should be. It's mine, and I love it.

Minor Setback

2007-11-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

The position at Steve's work was not filled from this group of canditates (translation: he didn't get the job). Obviously this means that the higher ups at Steve's work are a bunch of stupid wankers who can't see that he is the best worker in that crummy place, but he doesn't get credit because he doesn't whine about how hard he's working all the time. Big middle finger to you people.

However, this is a great reminder that we're young. We have lots of years ahead to stress about careers, but right now we should be working just enough to pay for our travel, hookers, and blow. I mean, neither of us really even know exactly what we want to do with our lives. We should be taking this time to figure it out rather than working like madmen to achieve some kind of status that doesn't mean anything to us.

And now I'll tack on a Thanksgiving post for good measure:

I'm thankful for...

Steve. I can't even describe how much I love him or begin to list all the reasons. Anything I say just sounds cheesy, and I hate it because that's not how we are. It's just right.

The fact that Becca and I are really friends again. And that she's happy.

Steve and I both getting to be with our families on Thanksgiving. Hopefully I'm still thinking it's a good idea tomorrow night.

Good friends. I only have like three, and I'm completely fine with that because I genuinely care about them and I know they genuinely care about me.

The city of Fort Collins.

Me likey

2007-11-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

Missing My Steve-o and My Tivo

2007-11-12T21:07:00.001-07:00

So after being gone for 10 of the past 14 days, I never plan to leave the house again. You'll have to pry my cold, dead fingers from the door. In the end, I'm glad that every once in a while I can show myself that I can be a world (or regional) traveler, and survive. But I really don't enjoy it. I don't like flying, I don't like staying in hotels and drying my face with towels that have touched millions of people's nether-regions, or eating fast food for every meal, or hanging out with "conference people."

I'm a lame home body, I'm willing to admit it, so by the end of this last trip I could barely hold it together.

But when I got home, Steve had an immaculate house waiting for me, with pizza, cookie dough and cherry coke inside. Then we watched The Office and Scrubs which he swore he hadn't watched without me. And everything was ok again because Steve is hands down the most amazing person in the world.

Being at the conference was a good reminder that I really need to set my priorities. And becoming a higher education marketing executive really isn't at the top of my list. Where that leaves me I'm not sure, but I'm sure I'll figure it all out.

Also, think good thoughts for Steve who is clawing his way up the corporate ladder. He should find out about his job early this week.

Pictures

2007-11-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

I finally activated my Flickr Pro Account (thanks Schulz family) and uploaded some more Colorado trip photos. My goal is to take more pictures and organize them in sets for easier viewing.

BOOKED!

2007-10-25T15:40:00.000-07:00

I’ve been meaning to get my hair cut since about May-ish, and I’ve just never been able to get to it. I finally called my mom and asked her to book me an appointment for the weekend we’ll be in Las Vegas. I really don’t care about my hair, but it’s just a crazy example of how little discretionary time we seem to have these days.

Just about every night, weekend, holiday, and spare minute outside of work is booked through the end of January.

Why I need to suck it up:

Grad school is good for us. I know, I know. Plus it’s better to get it done now before we might have other beautiful little distractions.
I hate missing out on family events. I love getting to see everyone and getting to be a part of those memories. So even if it’s not super-convenient, I want to try to be there.
Handling all this without having a nervous breakdown will be good for us, and prepare us for the many years ahead when things are just as busy.

But here’s some whining anyway:

I miss sleeping, hanging out in pajamas, and walking up to our park. And getting to watch mindless crap on TV. I mean sure, we will make time for The Office, but what about the America’s Next Top Model marathon?
Don’t we seem far too young to be focusing so much on our career paths and futures and accumulated retirement? I’m a little bitter that we didn’t take off a few years to bum around Europe.
I hate disappointing people. During the rare occasions when we just can’t be there, I hate feeling like I killed someone’s puppy.

So that’s it. Enjoy this blog because it may have to last you through Christmas.

Too much thinking…

2007-10-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

…but remarkably, during these past few days, thinking has actually left me feeling happy and hopeful as a opposed to my usual perpetual state of existential crisis. Here’s why:

Across the Universe - It was beautiful. It made me see things from a different perspective. The music was amazing, and even for someone who has probably had Beatles songs playing in the background of my life since I was born, this movie made me listen to the lyrics and hear things I hadn’t heard before. It was simple. It was optimistic. It showed people doing their best to get by in a confusing time. And in the end it was inspiring.

Leading with Soul - This was the first grad school assignment that really motivated me on any level. My chosen "leadership" book (which I chose because it was in the library, it was short, and it seemed vaguely interesting) turned out to be pretty captivating. Rather than a list of cliché leadership tips, a parable-like narrative framed advice from world religions and philosophers about man’s search for meaning. The basic gist was, "Until you have found your own meaning, you have nothing to offer others." Deep stuff for an education class.

My Parents Visiting - I love my parents for the same reason that everyone else loves their parents - they provided me with food, shelter, helped me with homework and went to my school performances. But I also love my parents as people. I love that we can talk about politics, philosophy, history, and religion over breakfast in Sedona. I love that we can all watch Across the Universe the same weekend we watch Knocked Up. I don’t think I’ll ever be as cool a person as my parents, and definitely not as cool a parent. After all, our future kids can’t believe in Santa Claus or have any plastic toys.

In any case, it’s all left me feeling thoughtful and content, ready to find my place in the world and figure out what I have to give. I’m ready for an adventure. But for tonight, I'll just be doing homework.

Morally Green

2007-09-25T11:36:00.001-07:00

The pope wants to make environmental sustainability a moral obligation (as if it wasn't already).

According to sources, the Pope is expected to use his first speech to the United Nations “to deliver a powerful warning over climate change in a move to adopt protection of the environment as a “moral” cause for the Catholic Church and its billion-strong following.” He’s likely to push for sustainable development, saying earlier in the month that there “is pressing need for science and religion to work together to safeguard the gifts of nature and to promote responsible stewardship”.

Talk about a conversation piece

2007-09-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

NYC Garbage in a Box

Someday I will have something more substantial to write about.

More from treehugger

2007-09-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

The website treehugger.com is quickly becoming one of my favorite sources for environmental news and information. It also provides information about things I would never think about. Science is crazy.

Will Melting Mammoth Poo Speed Up Climate Change?

I think I spotted a few words in there that Kyra might enjoy.

I recommend the long list

2007-09-14T16:22:00.000-07:00

Simple Living Manifesto

Over my head…

2007-09-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

This past week has not been my favorite. I was sick from last Friday until Wednesday, and this morning, the people at my work keep saying, “Aww… we can tell you still don’t feel well.” Loosely translated that means, “You look like you’ve been run over by a truck. I can’t believe you left the house looking that way.” In any case, I was out of work all day Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, which means I’m playing catch up. This consists mostly of returning e-mails and then waiting for replies from people who have already left for the weekend…

And, why didn’t anyone remind me that school sucks before I went back? Grad school is remarkably like undergrad. The standards are lower than what I thought they would be, but motivating to actually do the work is not fun. Coming home at the end of a long day of work and having to pull some random “facts” out of your “head” is not my idea of a good time.

Case in point, last night I was working on a very vague assignment about making a chart with our strengths and weaknesses as a K-12 principal. Since I have never been, nor do I want to become, a K-12 principal, I found the assignment rather difficult. I was up until 1 a.m. trying to figure out what I could turn in that would possibly give me some points.

Of course this hasn’t stopped me from trying to decide what my next degree will be. Do they have a 12-step program for academia?

Hopefully a weekend filled with money (we sold our car!), beautiful weather, and some kind of organizational system to keep us afloat until December will do me some good.

Remember last time I said I wanted to work at Starbucks? It’s sounding pretty good again.

SO mad

2007-09-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

Today I got this e-mail from my friend Nikki:

Dear Friends,

As you all know, my brother Roger got out of the Marines almost 2 years ago and moved to Washington state to start college. He's really been loving it, doing well in classes, exploring the forests, camping and hiking and spent the summer working for the Fish & Wildlife service to restore salmon habitats.

This week as he started his 4th semester, Roger got notice from the Marines that at the end of the month, they're calling him back, and will be testing him to see if he is still fit to serve, after which he may have 5 months of training and be re-called into service for another 2 years.

Please keep him and my Mom in your thoughts.

Love and hugs,

Nicole

Roger and Nikki were two of the first people I met when I moved to Las Vegas. They are both amazing people, and I've often told people how much I admire them for never having a bad word to say about anyone. Roger is not your typical marine. He's a carefree, laid back guy with an infectious laugh. He's a whiz with mechanical-type junk. He's the kind of person who can take electronics completely apart and then put them back together again - which sometimes leads to speakers contained in shoeboxes.

Roger served his time in the military. He was obviously not happy to have any part of the war in Iraq, but he followed through with his duty. And now that he was back in school, he seemed so happy again. Like he had finally gotten his life back.

The seething anger I feel right now knowing that our government is taking advantage of such a sweet, generous guy - forcing him back into a deadly situation because they can't find any new people dumb enough to sign up to give their lives in a war that we're not even sure why we got in to or how we'll ever get out of - is just indescribable.

Roger shouldn't have to go back until Jenna and Barbara Bush are over in Iraq with AK-47s, instead of planning hoity-toity weddings to young republican cronies.

Our Trip in Photos - Part I

2007-09-06T10:13:00.000-07:00

The Fort Collins/Estes Park set

Hopefully we'll have the Boulder/Denver/Casa Bonita set up soon. We're coming dangerously close to maxing out our Flickr basic account though, so you may have to just imagine those places.

Colorado, Here We Come!

2007-08-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

Despite the growing concern over the prevalence of West Nile Virus (My Dad : Me :: Jose Cuervo : Alcoholic - they feed our disease), I am very excited to go to Colorado. But tomorrow at noon still seems like such a very long time away. I hope that I’ll feel more like it's vacation once I’m in the car, ready to go. Or maybe I’ll only feel really excited when we’re leaving the Microtel in Pueblo.

We'll be sure to take pictures. That's probably a lie.

Also, I completed my first grad school assignment (and it wasn’t even due until Sept. 5). Getting one assignment out of the way has made me feel like the whole grad school situation is a lot more achievable. There were a few days where we were buying books and staring blankly at our assignments, and I think we had about 75%talked ourselves out of going through with it. We’ll see how Week 2 goes.

In only one hour and seven minutes I will be done for the week. A week that has lasted 12 days with no breaks. And now we will have four glorious days of mountains, audio books, and CASA BONITA!

You too could travel to exotic destinations…

2007-08-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

…like St. Louis, Missouri, home of a big arch and Josh’s family. All you have to do is take my job.

Reasons I’m excited:

This is my hotel!

It has an Einstein!

They will be paying for my breakfast since only a continental breakfast is provided, and they will reimburse me to buy a meal if the meal being served does not include meat. Ironic for a pesce/vegetarian, isn't it?

Reasons I’m not excited:

I’m going by myself.
I’m flying by myself.
I’ll have to mingle.
Internet is $9.95 a day!

Take me back...PLEASE!

2007-08-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

I did something awful. I let myself be deceived by the promise of more. I desired more. I desired you. But more doesn't always mean better does it? Sure, we had fun at first but then it got out of hand. You made me pay (literally) when there wasn't time for you. I have a job, a life and a wife that wasn't pleased when I choose to be with you. I should have listened and now it's time to say goodbye Blockbuster Total Access. Oh, and, Blockbuster? Don't let the door hit you in the @$$ on your way out!

***

Netflix, baby. I know what I did was wrong. I know I left you with little explanation but now I am asking you to take me back. I should have realized how good we had it but I am only human. You're not flashy but you are dependable and consistent and I love that about you. That's why I need you back in my life. I can't live without you.

What's that you say? You will happily take me back and even give me two weeks free? Man, Netflix, you really need to gain some self respect.

The Ungodly Busy (but not too busy to marathon blog) Edition

2007-08-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

Our campus is a terrifying place right now. While I completely respect the university’s mission to give each student every possible advantage to succeed, preparing for the largest freshman class ever makes staff go crazy. “What if the students can’t figure out how to use the locks on the bathroom stalls, feel bad, and drop out? Should we make a sign?” It’s getting out of hand.

And in just 72 hours or so, all the students will be back, invading our Target, filling our downtown hangouts, and replacing the summer tourist traffic with new student traffic. But honestly, I’m thrilled. I’ve loved our summer here. The weather has been gorgeous and it has been very peaceful. But the fanny pack crowd is wearing a bit thin. I’m ready to lose all the people who feel like it’s ok to drive 10 mph going the wrong direction on one way streets because they’re “not from around here.”

And once the students are back, they’ll be able to show the university that, yes, they can lock their bathroom stall doors, figure out how to use Microsoft Word, and even check their e-mail without too many problems. And this should take a little bit of the pressure off me. I can work on some of the more fun projects that I have coming up for the semester.

The only downside to all the students coming back for the fall semester is... oh yeah, WE’RE STUDENTS TOO! And my typical before-school dreams are back. Most common - it’s finals week and I realize that there’s one class I have completely neglected all semester. I’ve forgotten that I registered for it, never went, never even bought the book. And now it’s too late to drop, so I find myself desperately cramming for a final in some subject where I know nothing. It’s a good thing we’re starting back to school now, because if any more time had passed, it would have been much easier to talk myself out of voluntary years of panicking over papers.

Also, Steve and I did the Climb to Conquer Cancer over the weekend:

7 miles
2,000 ft elevation climb
2 hrs 12 min

Take that, cancer!

DOUHSM2?

2007-08-17T17:47:00.000-07:00

So tonight, Steve and I are very excited to be doing nothing and just hanging out together. We'll probably just watch some movie, any old movie… Nothing that would necessarily exacerbate my already unhealthy crush on Zac Efron or that Meredith Vieira said her daughters were a little too old to watch (they're teenagers).

In the car at lunch, I was telling Steve that we need to make this evening an event. Eat a big spread of junk food, and hang out in our sweat pants and just relax. And he looked at me with his crooked smile and said, "You're the cutest little girl I've ever met."

Now with anyone else, this would bring on hours of feminist diatribe. But with Steve it was just sweet. You see, with Steve and me, it's just like kindergarten. You meet a kid and 10 seconds later you're playing like your best friends because you don't have to be anyone but yourself.

WHAT TEAM?

It's the end of the world!

2007-08-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

Come hail and high water: NAU assessing storm damage

We fail…

2007-08-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

So while we haven’t technically broken our vegan fast yet, and I’m not sure we will tonight either, I think we’re officially ending it. Mainly because we’re hungry. For now, we plan to go back to a pesco-vegetarian lifestyle with a reduced amount of cheese/dairy.

And that sounds like heaven to me right now. Yogurt, cereal with real milk, and the occasional pizza, plus a salmon filet every once in a blue moon. It really doesn’t get any better than that.

I do think our week or so of being vegan made us realize how much dairy is in everything we eat and how impossible it is for normal people to avoid. I guess it’s good that we at least gained more awareness and will hopefully eat a little more conscientiously in the future.

GIMME SOME FRIGGIN' CHEESE AND NO ONE GETS HURT!!!

2007-08-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

I think that about says it all...

Vegan - Day 1

2007-08-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

So far, day one of being a vegan has been pretty easy.

-Clif bars and green tea for breakfast

-Grapes, carrots, and peanut butter and honey sandwiches on vegan bread for lunch (although honey is a debatable item, but we’re going with the more liberal school of though on that one)

-Some kind of tofu/black bean fajita creation tonight. Lots of salsa and/or guacamole, no cheese or sour cream.

I can’t say I’m feeling any revolutionary health benefits by hour 15, but we’ll see how it goes. It does make me happy to know that cheese isn’t composing 2/3 of my diet, at least not for the next 30 days.

We’re really excited to go to Phoenix this weekend, even if we will be a pain to accommodate. A BBQ with everyone will be the perfect end to our summer, which has flown by. And in just about 3 weeks, we’ll be hitting the books again.

No ice cream. School. We really are masochists. Although we can end our first week of school and our vegan month with a ton of cheese enchiladas from Casa Bonita.

August Announcements

2007-07-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be Steve’s blog, but he’s busy working on selling our car. So here are our August announcements:

You’re going down, Dejo!

Steve and I are engaging in a little friendly competition to see who can raise more money for the Climb to Conquer Cancer on August 18. Choose you sides wisely. Remember who provides you hours of entertaining blogging per week and who can’t be bothered to post…

Click here to donate to Team Rachel (Yay! Woo hoo! Way to go!)

Click here to donate to Team Steve (Boo! Hiss!)

Expect this to be the biggest battle since Kristin/LC.

A MONTH WITHOUT PIZZA?!

From the couple that brought you, “Sorry, we just became vegetarians!” right before the delicious Easter ham comes another crazy way to make things difficult for you to be our hosts. For the entire month of August, we have decided to go vegan. Just for curiosity's sake. So that means no cheese, no eggs, no yogurt, no milk, no ice cream, very few baked goods, no butter, well you get the picture… I don’t think this one will be a permanent lifestyle change, but who knows?!

In the mean time we will be eating lots of tofu stir-fy, brown rice, veggies, fruits, black beans, and vegan protein bars. Oh, and soy cheese pizza. Aren’t you so excited to hang out with us?

P.S. This happens to coincide with Bryan and Colleen’s three months of no sweets, so if we’re all really cranky, you may need to throw us a donut.

Rachel’s Nostalgia Part 2

2007-07-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Last night we stayed up far later than we should have watching old music videos with Bryan and Colleen (and also making hotel reservations for our trip to Fort Collins). Watching these videos brought back so many memories. Here’s a few (hey, if Steve can get away with it all the time, I can do it once in a while):

When we were living in Oakland, Nebraska, MTV was not an option on cable. Interestingly enough, they did get MTV in Burwell, Nebraska… Maybe the sandhills were more progressive. In any case, every time the cable bill would come, my dad would send it in with the words “I WANT MY MTV!” written in perfect capital letters on the bottom of the statement. To my knowledge, they never responded.

Yesterday Steve described a conversation that he had with a co-worker that went something like this:

Co-worker: Are you mormon? (For the second time, because Steve gives off a vibe, he’s clean-cut, 23 and married).
Steve: No, some of my family is, but I’m not.
Co-worker: Well then are you Christian?
Steve: I don’t know.
Co-worker: [Looking confused]
Steve: Well, I’m not an atheist, I don’t know if I’d call myself an agnostic, it’s complicated.

I had a similar conversation when I went to the ER for my killer ear/sinus infection back in January:
Nurse: What’s your religion?
Me: Uhhh…
Nurse: [Looking at me like this question should not be that hard.] You can just leave it blank if you want.
Me: Ok. [Sorry I can’t answer complicated, existential questions when I’m in blinding pain.]

Now I know what you’re thinking. What does this have to do with a crappy Britney Spears video? Long story short, I was still going to youth group at Trinity after my dad left. I had a lot of friends there that I wasn’t quite ready to part with. But then, the day came when we watched some “Christian” documentary about the evils of popular music or something like that. I distinctly remember them showing this video and blurring out the tiny bit of her cleavage that shows when she does the lean-y chair thing. And all I could think was, “This is so stupid. This is what you care about. Not helping people in need. Not inspiring people to live in peace. Not finding a way to love our enemies. No. We care more about Britney’s ta-tas.” And looking back, that’s when me and church reluctantly parted ways. But what can I say? I grew up watching “The Making of the SI Swimsuit Edition” with my pastor.

And a non-video one:

When we were looking at restaurants in Fort Collins, it was a strange combination of the more familiar west coast chains and some of the stranger mid-western ones. For example, people in Arizona don’t think that Taco John’s sounds like good Mexican food. Then we came across Runza. I never ate ground beef, so I didn’t exactly grow up on Runza, but I definitely knew it existed.

Well, Bryan, Colleen, and Steve reacted with shrieks of horror when they saw this meat-filled concoction. “Like, seriously, it’s just that much ground beef with a little bit of bread." I always thought they were gross, but I figured it was just my aversion to ground beef in general. The mid-west is a strange animal. Luckily there are lots of vegetarian options in the FC (which is what I am calling Fort Collins from now on) as well.