Two Posts Today

Sorry for the double post but I had two different things I wanted to talk about so it's easier to split them up. We went to see "Marley and Me" today. I had read the book so I knew how the story ended but I still cried my eyes out the entire movie! I thought it was a great book when I read it and thought the same about the movie. I know not all of my readers are "dog people" so it's hard to explain how important our dogs are to us. They truly are our family. They are not children and I would never compare my dogs to someone's child but they are our family. The amount of trust that they put in us and the love they give so unconditionally continues to fill my heart with joy. There are plenty of days when they are manic and crazy and get on my nerves but there are more days when they lie on their back and want nothing more than a quick rub on their tummies...those days make it totally worth it.

There was a scene in the movie that moved me to tears because it was so real to me. When Jen has her miscarriage, she comes home, sits on the couch and holding Marley, cries into his neck. It was such a tender scene and I could relate so well....there are so many times when I am feeling sad or lonely or depressed when I just cry with the dogs. They don't say anything, they don't try to fix it...they just lie there with their beautiful big, dopey eyes and let me pour out my emotions. Those days are priceless. So, here's a big shout out to the two big, beautiful pups that brighten each and every one of my days!

Kimi (13 mo)

Cody (7 mo)

Not in Paris

Cold and fog...that's what I posted on my blog 12/26/2007....from Paris. It had been a cold, foggy day and I had a cold that lasted several days. Sadly, I am not reporting from Paris but happily from my cozy home in Erie, Colorado. I can't remember the last time we had such a laid back holiday. Having spent a week in Louisiana visiting my family over Thanksgiving, not being with family for the holidays was not so hard. We decided at the last minute to hold a Christmas Eve open house. We had several neighbors and friends that do not have family here and had no plans for Christmas Eve so Dick and I threw together a little shindig. It turned out even better than I anticipated...about 25 people, including kids and we all had a wonderful time partying into the wee Christmas hours. We had plenty of food and great Champagne. Our friend, Gavin, brought homemade eggnog....yummo!!!!! Here's a few pics of friends and fun:

Dick dancing with the dogs before our guests arrive!

Yummy appetizers waiting to be eaten!!! (excuse the firelighter in the background...)

Dick with Sally's crew: Ed, Nancy (Sally's aunt & uncle), Joe (Nancy's son), Sally and Will (Nancy's oldest son). We were so blessed to have them here visiting from North Carolina.

Judy and Sally having a chuckle over something!!

The Alm boys with Jasmine (Seth, Jasmine, Josh and Ken).

Us, hanging out with the Gaspars and Kevin.

Hello...I'm here!

I know my blog posts are getting farther apart...there's just not that much going on right now around here. It's been cold...brrrr...but luckily we have plenty of warm clothes and boots so it's not so bad. We are going skiing up at Vail December 29 through January 1. We will get more ski days in next week than we got all of last year! Woo hoo!!!

I've been busy getting ready for our little open house Christmas Eve...just neighbors and a few good friends. I always start to get the holiday spirit around this week so this is what I've been up to:

In the past, I have made Christmas cookies but I really wanted to do something different so I tried out three different candied nut recipes...they all came out tasty so I pulled together some gift bags, tucked them into my nice basket, put on my red coat and delivered them door to door to my neighbors. It was a fun little trek and it's so nice that a simple bag of nuts can put a smile on someone's face this time of year.


My mother in law, before she passed away, made butter cookies for my hubby every single time we visited and they were a staple around her house during the holidays. I thought it would be a nice treat for him to have some this year at home...it's his mom's recipe and they always come out delicious!


What would a blog post of mine be without a pic of the puppies...here they are romping in the cold weather last week!

Oh, and one last thing....my fave new Christmas gift....a new camera from my mom!!! It's the Nikon D60...now I just need to take some classes and learn how to take better pictures!!!

Friday Night Boredom

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Winter Hikes

Monday night we got a a couple of inches of snow so it was a beautiful white winter morning yesterday. Poor little Cody was neutered so he spent the day at the vet and Kimi and I had the whole day to ourselves! I had forgotten how easy one dog was.

It was so quiet around the house so I decided to take her out to Coot Lake near Boulder Res. It's a great trail for dogs because they can be off leash with the proper county off leash tags. Here she is, enjoying the new snow. I continue to be amazed how beautiful she is!!!!

And here's a view of our gorgeous Boulder flatirons as seen from Coot Lake....what I wouldn't give to have this view from our house!!!

Putting up the Christmas Tree

Dick put up my Christmas tree last week so today while he was gone, I decided to decorate it. What fun I had!! I really do love Christmas and especially enjoy putting up the tree. Last year we were in Paris and it made me so sad not to have my tree up. There were years in the past that I had to fill up the empty spaces with glass balls or "generic" ornaments. This year I actually had trouble finding space for all of our ornaments, and it got me thinking. You can tell alot by someone's Christmas tree. Here are some of my fave ornaments that we've collected throughout the years and what they mean to us (descriptions read from top row left to right)

First Row:

1. Clay ornament from Crested Butte - my parents brought it back from a vacation they took there.

2. Top Dog Waldo - Dick and I's very first dog together...our beloved Great Pyr.

3. Mickey bell from a long ago trip to Disneyland with the Morgan family.

4. Pair of riding boots from when we were in Virginia and I was taking riding lessons.

5. Ornament from the 2001 Bush Inauguration

6. Clay ornament we got when we were first married...with Dick's two daughter's names included.

Second Row:

1. New York Taxi from one of my trips to NYC

2. Provincetown ornament from a trip Dick and I took to see Danielle & Sydney

3. Dutch Shoes that Dick got years ago in Holland

4. One of my favorite White House ornaments - I now have 10 years worth but this was always one of my faves

5. This year's White House ornament....

6. Ornament sent to me from Marie when they were stationed in Hawaii

Third Row:

1. Champagne Bottle & Bucket Glass ornament - cause we like the bubbly stuff

2. Wooden Berner ornament for our love of our dogs!

3. Mount Vernon ornament - Martha welcoming George home.

4. Another from a collection...The Library of Congress...this has one of my fave T. Jefferson quotes: "I cannot live without books."

5. Crystal Champagne bottle & bucket - see a theme?

6. Wooden skis from Vail 2000

Fourth Row:

1. Adorable snow globe ornament I got from our book club ornament swap (thanks Kerry!!!)

2. Hard Rock Paris - you'll see another theme here shortly!

3. Brass Eiffel Tower ornament

4. National Cathedral ornament - most of the DC/political ornament collections were started when we lived in Northern Virginia.

5. Glittery Eiffel Tower

6. Crystal Champagne Glass......

Fifth Row:

1. Paris ornament from one of our many trips - can you tell what our favorite city is?

2. This year's Library of Congress ornament

3. Glass Eiffel Tower and Poodle

4. "Handyman" ornament given to Dick by the Patten family after helping them with some home stuff.

5. "Travel Girl" ornament

6. Cafe Du Monde ornament from a trip to the Big Easy.

Sixth Row:

1. Skier Guy that I bought for Dick one Christmas.

2. Another Paris ornament!!!

3. Our very first ornament together - Hallmark 1992...our first Christmas

4. One of our recent acquisitions - from Key West for Jason & Regina's wedding. I love the glittery sand dollar!!!

5. Another Eiffel Tower...

6. Our very last purchase - a pewter ornament of the Munich Maypole...purchased last month on our weekend trip.

So, there you have it...a small sampling of our ornaments. Now you know quite a bit about us!!! What does YOUR tree say about you?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!

Bad Blogger

Hi and sorry I've been gone for so long. Thanksgiving week was a whirlwind trip. Dick and I drove down to Louisiana via Lake Livingston, Texas (to see Bill & Maggie). B & M are old friends that were some of our first neighbors when Dick moved to Colorado in 1991. They have remained our best friends throughout the years and we miss them terribly now that they are in Texas. Luckily, I get home to Louisiana often enough that I can always make a short stop to see them. It was great to spend two whole days with them this time. Maggie and I took a little shopping trip to the Houston Ikea while Dick and Bill hung out in the boat on the lake. I was sad to go.

But go we did...driving another 2.5 hours to my hometown of Jennings, Louisiana. It's always makes me sad to go home....my dad died 6 years ago and just being there without him makes me sad.

We had a great Thanksgiving...almost 40 people (friends and relatives) at my mom's house and plenty of good food too numerous to mention here. It's always great to be able to see both sides of my family in one place.

The big news of the week is that my mom got engaged! We are very excited. Her fiance is a wonderful man who loves her very much and I know will take very good care of her so Mom, if you're reading this..CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN!!!!!

On the Road Again

Leaving tomorrow for my hometown: Jennings, Louisiana. The truck is all packed and the dogs are ready. We're spending the weekend in Lake Livingston with our friends Bill & Maggie. Maggie and I will make a trip to Ikea on Sunday...woo hoo! I can't wait. Monday we're off to Jennings for two weeks. My whole family will be there for Thanksgiving and I can't wait.

I'll post again once we're all settled at my mom's. Until then...have a great weekend!!!

Happy Birthday Kimi

A year ago, our little angel berner was born! Remember this...the first day at our house...11 pounds of fuzzy preciousness!!!

And today - 70 pounds of fuzzy preciousness!!!

Happy Birthday Kimi!

The Otto Story

So now, in hindsight, this story doesn't seem as funny as it did when it happened but since I mentioned it I now have to tell it. As you know from my previous post, we were only in Munich for one and a half days. We flew out of Denver on Saturday morning, arriving Munich Sunday mid-morning and we left Munich Tuesday morning. So we were there for 5 meals. Sunday we had lunch at a nice local place near the Marienplatz (yummy schnitzel & I had chicken curry), Sunday night was dinner at another local place, this one near our hotel (more chicken for me and pork for Dick). Tuesday morning breakfast was a croissant for Dick and a big, steaming latte for me and lunch was another fun local restaurant (pumpkin soup for me and I think more schnitzel or something like that for Dick).


By the time Monday evening rolled around, we had been shopping all day and were really ready to kick back, relax and have a nice, romantic last night in Munich meal. Which, by the way, had to include apple streudel because despite our mission to have it, neither the right moment nor the right streudel had arrived. We had packed our bags and didn't have a early flight on Tuesday so we were really planning on making a night of it. We didn't know where we were going to go but we decided to head out near the Opera because it was such a nice area.


First we ended up in this really fun Weinstube (small, homey restaurants known for their wine and food). It's very similar to a beer garden...communal tables and a really fun atmosphere. So, there we are enjoying our wine...chatting over what a great trip it had been and just having a really good time. Soon we were starting to get hungry and decided to venture out to a nicer restaurant for dinner. At this point, I noticed that someone had left a pair of eyeglasses on the table next to us. I mentioned it to Dick then we headed outside. We immediately ran into a couple who I recognized from the table with the eyeglasses. They were out talking and smoking with an older, traditionally dressed German gentleman. Well, Dick speaks pretty fluent German so he asked if anyone had left their eyeglasses on the table.


This is where it got kind of weird. Dick was positive that he was asking the question correctly and even repeated it....explaining it in more detail. The younger couple who had been sitting at that table "acted" like they didn't understand what he was saying. The older gentleman however, immediately latched onto the face that we were American and started speaking to us in mixed German/English. He seemed like a nice fellow....asking about Obama and how we were enjoying our trip. Then he asked if we had gone to dinner and we told him that we were heading out to do that right now. So he then proceeds to tell us that he'd love to show us a little of the real Munich and show us to a nice restaurant. Well, there was really no way to say no because he kind of just latched onto us and started out to the sidewalk. At this point the other couple made a beeline for the Weinstube again....in retrospect, not surprising! So we are realizing now that the three of them were not together....hmmmmm....ugh oh!


Well, Otto...yep, his name was Otto....pointed out a few interesting facts along our walk and then we ended up at a restaurant (can't even remember the name) that we had considered for dinner so we all popped inside. Okay, at this point, I expected one of two things to happen:


1. Otto knew the restaurant (and people), was a regular and was going to introduce us as his friends (apparently that was too much to ask) or

2. He was going to drop us off, tell us to enjoy our dinner and be on his way.


You can probably figure out that neither of those things happened. And....duh...the waitress was much quicker to catch onto the fact that perhaps he was a little inebriated. So, we all sit down at a table....and Otto proceeds to talk about the U.S., his family living here, and a whole lotta things that were depressing and going downhill....AND to make it worse, he and Dick were talking in German/English so I couldn't understand half of what was said. I could tell that the subject matter was not pleasant and was none too happy that my nice romantic dinner with my husband had been so rudely interrupted by a drunk German.


Luckily, alot of Germans still smoke, so it was just a matter of time before he had to go outside. Dick and I agreed (with plenty of pressure from me)...to order appetizers and a glass of wine and get the heck out of there. Ugh...even that took forever...3 Otto smoke breaks to be exact. With him coming back every single time saying "in 15 minutes, I will be on my way home and you can eat your dinner." And to be truthful, every time he went out for a smoke break, I tried to convince Dick that we should run out the back door!!!!


Never happened...finally, I had to say "I don't feel well, we have an early flight and we really need to get back to the hotel." So, there we went...leaving him still nursing his beer at the table. By this time, we were stuffed from the wine and appetizers that weren't even that great! We trecked back to the restaurant where we had lunch because they had a really, nice cozy interior and I just wanted something cozy and romantice. We finally got our apple streudel and yes, another bottle of wine. So all in all...not the night I was expecting but an evening that ends with apple streudel can't be all bad!!

In retrospect, Otto was a very sad, lonely man and I suspect, just wanted someone to talk to. Dick, being the generous sweet soul that he is, was much more patient than I and speaks German so could communicate so much better.

So, that's it...that's my Otto story!

A Weekend in Munich

I know it comes as no surprise to anyone who has known me and Dick for any length of time that we would fly to Munich for the weekend! And what a fun weekend it was. We left Denver on Saturday - a perfectly on time flight to Chicago where we connected to Munich. We got one upgrade to business class and Dick was sweet enough to take the coach seat and let me have the business class seat. As with all of our Europe trips, I had dinner and went straight to sleep. When I woke up, we were in Germany!

Of course, since we only had two days in Munich, we hit the ground running. We stayed at the Holiday Inn on Hochstrasse. I can definitely recommend it. It was very clean and they had a room ready for us at 11:00 in the morning. It also had a great bar and a subway stop at the hotel....very convenient. We washed our faces, unpacked our small carry ons then headed out the door. We spent the day wandering around town...like we always do. We had lunch near the Marienplatz in the old part of the city....Dick had schnitzel (he couldn't wait!!!) and I had yummy chicken. The one thing I had forgotten was how much I loved German food (and wine).

The weather was so gorgeous...blue sunny skies and mid 60's temps kept us outside the entire two days...walking, people watching, shopping and eating all of that yummy food. Here's a few pics of our adventures.

The Odeonsplatz is one of the cosmopolitan centers of Munich, at the intersection of Ludwigstrasse, Briennerstrasse, and the Royal Palace. It is also the location of the Feldherrnhalle. Modeled after the Loggia die Lanzi in Florence, the Feldherrnhalle brings a bit of Italian renaissance to Bavaria. It was commissioned by King Ludwig I to honor the Bavarian army, but is best known for its role during the Beer Hall Uprising led by Adolf Hitler. 16 Nazis and four policemen were killed during the subsequent riots. Once once the Nazis came to power, the Odeonsplatz became a shrine to the fallen Nazi “martyrs.” Every person passing by was required on threat of arrest to greet the honor guard with a Nazi salute. A small alley way behind the monument became almost as famous, called Viscardigasse, because there were locals who took the passage rather than being forced to give the Nazi salute. Today, Odeonsplatz is one of the cosmopolitan centers of Munich, at the intersection of Ludwigstrasse, Briennerstrasse, and the Royal Palace.

Next on our agenda was the BMW Tower and the BMW Welt. The Tower has been the Bavarian automakers headquarters for over 30 years. Built between 1968 and 1972, it was ready just in time for the 1972 Summer Olympics. Its inauguration followed on 18 May 1973. The building stands 101 m (roughly 331 feet) tall, is located in direct proximity of the Olympic stadium. The main tower consists of four vertical cylinders standing next to and across from each other. Each cylinder is divided horizontally in its center by a mold in the facade. Notably, these cylinders do not stand on the ground, they are suspended on a central support tower. During the construction, individual floors were assembled on the ground and then elevated. The tower has a diameter of roughly 171 feet.

During the 1972 Olympics, BMW branding was removed from the buildings to prevent undesirable product placement.

Here we are on Monday...enjoying the beautiful sunny day in the Marienplatz...people watching and shopping.

Another pic at the Marienplatz...in front of the Glockenspiel.

Part of the second construction phase of the New Town Hall, it dates from 1908. Every day at 11 a.m. (as well as 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. in summer) it chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century to the amusement of mass crowds of tourists and locals. It consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V (who also founded the world famous Hofbrauhaus) to Renata of Lothringen. In honour of the happy couple there is a joust with life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria (in white and blue) and Lothringen (in red and white). The Bavarian Knight wins every time of course. This is then followed by the bottom half and second story: Schäfflerstanz (the coopers' dance). In the 16th century a particularly bad period of the plague hit town and everyone went into hiding. The first people to dare go back onto the streets were barrel makers who performed a big dance to show that it was okay to come out again. The Duke of Bavaria was so happy about this that he actually ordered them to re-enact this every seven years, a custom which continues to this day. The dance can be seen during Fasching (German Carnival) but the next one is not until 2012. The whole show lasts somewhere between 12 and 15 minutes long depending on which tune it plays that day. At the very end a very small golden bird at the top of the Glockenspiel chirps three times, marking the end of the spectacle.

A testament to the unbelievably great weather - a nice lunch outside on Monday.

Stay tuned for our funny Munich adventure that I will recount for you tomorrow....hint: it involves a guy named Otto!!!

The Exciting Life of a Stay At Home Dog Mom

To my loyal followers (all 2 of you)...I apologize for not being around for the last week. Truth be told, if I got on my computer in the morning, I wouldn't get off until afternoon so I'm trying not to spend too much time on here. Maybe once the winter finally shows up here and the days are short, I might have more time to hang out. Life here is about the same...we went to dinner Saturday night with Randy & Meri then spent a disappointing afternoon at the Broncos game on Sunday. Monday I went to the movies with Sally and her mom. We saw "The Secret Life of Bees". Cute movie...for a $5.50 matinee...it was okay. More importantly, I saw the trailer for "Marley & Me". I can't wait for that to come out at Christmas. I loved the book and movie looks hilarious!!!

Some walks this week with Sally and some with the dogs. I tried running last week and although it was painful on my legs and lungs, my ankle hardly ached at all. That's great news. Who knows, maybe I have one more marathon left in me.

We are off to Germany for a quick long weekend....it will be short but fun. We can pile alot of fun stuff in 48 hours!!!

Oh, I have been cooking since I stopped working...okay, I cooked twice. Friday night for Halloween I made Dick's favorite: pot roast with potatoes and carrots in my crock pot. It was delicious if I say so myself. Tonight I made myself a big pot of chili...it's my "go to" winter food...so easy to throw together and so good for you. Speaking of food, I have to give a shout out to Rachel from my book club...she made some awesome snacks for our monthly book club: the tastiest pumpkin soup I have ever had, delish cranberry relish and a double yummy blue cheese and nut hot dip...I'm sure I ate half the dish!!!! And then she sent me home with yummy spiced roasted pumpkin seeds. I've been munching on those seeds all week and just dreaming about that dip!!!

And last, but not least, unlike the last time I wasn't working, I've actually had quite a bit of creative energy lately. I am almost finished making all of my Christmas cards and I actually got out Halloween cards and am almost finished with Thanksgiving cards. Woo hoo!!!!!

Here's a few pics from the weekend:

Dick and the big scary dog!!!

My little boy is getting big...I am just so in love...he's so adorable and snuggly!!!

And here's a close up of Kimi, my beautiful big girl who's turning 1 this month. She is such a little prankster but is so adorable!!!

It's Been a Long Time

Happy Tuesday and thanks to all of you who continue to check up on me here. Lots of stuff going on right now so this will be a pretty long post. Most of you who have known me for some time know that I went back to work in April of this year for a start up company. I wasn't thrilled about going back to work full time but it was an opportunity that was too good to pass up. Well, I guess all good things come to end...I got laid off yesterday. Don't fret...it's okay. I'm actually happy to be semi-retired again...as is Dick. He really likes having me home and having me free to travel or just hang out with him. Sally is pretty thrilled too (I hope) because now I can go back to doing some work with her in the furniture biz...and I get to go back to Vegas in February for furniture market again!! Woo hoo girlfriend....Viva Las Vegas!!!

Anyway, this time around I'm hoping to be more productive in my time off....spend more time in my craft room, with my girlfriends, at the gym, etc. All those things I never seemed to have time to do when I was working full time.

I don't think I mentioned it previously, but my one and only awesome sister, Donna, bought a car here in Colorado. Two weeks ago, she flew here and she and I drove it to Houston. It was a long (17 hours) trip but fun and it gave us some great quality sister time together. Here she is a rest stop someplace in Oklahoma, showing off her Volvo S40. It was an extremely comfortable car to both drive and ride in and got great gas mileage. I know she's going to love it.


As you can see, the weather was awesome and we had an easy peasy drive until we got here:

Dallas, Texas Saturday afternoon traffic. Luckily, it only put us behind about 30 minutes but it was a real pain to deal with. We spent the night with my great friend, Bill then back to the airport and home to Denver I came.

Only to be home for a week then taking off for LAS VEGAS!!! Dick and I spent the weekend to celebrate his...and his friend Scott's birthday. Nancy and Scott took a road trip to the Grand Canyon since we didn't arrive until Friday night. I had upgraded our rooms at the Bellagio to a corner room and we had several gorgeous views...this one we could view out of while we were in bed....awesome!!!! We were on the 27th floor so it wasn' t noisy and those mountains were gorgeous at sunrise (or so Dick tells me). Dick got sick Saturday night and spent alot of time in the room so I'm glad it was so nice.

Sorry for the dark picture but this is the picture in our bathroom...that's the jacuzzi tub underneat the window.....great taking a bath while enjoying the view. It's just a good thing no helicopters flew by!!!

I love the Bellagio. It's such a beautiful hotel, and Ilove that they decorate their conservatory for every season. Right now it's decorate for autumn...here's Nancy and I enjoying the fall "foliage". That's a scarecrow behind us...too bad his head got chopped off!


I loved this beautifuld display of pumpkins....the color really made smile.

And last, the old man in the tree. It's not obvious from this picture, but his eyes moved, like he was watching us...spooky!!!!

Hopefully now that I'm home again you'll hear from me more often. Ciao!!!

Angie

Have You Missed Me?

Happy Thursday and I apologize for being gone so long. It's been a busy month and I just haven't had the time nor inclination to blog. Busy, busy but not necessarily interesting stuff going on...in other words, not much to blog about. But it's about to get busier around our house for the next few weeks so I thought I should post a few thoughts before I really go underground for awhile. We went to the Broncos/Jacksonville game on Sunday...ugh...Broncos played badly and lost the game but we had a blast. We took Kevin & Judy with us and some friends from work also came along so we had our own cheering section. As you can see, it was slightly chilly...we got a little bit of rain and frosty drizzle but all in all, it was just fun being outside, watching the game and spending time with friends.

Here's Judy and I getting ready to eat our chili cheese fries....I'm such a healthy eater normally but when I go to sports events I can't help but eat stadium food. Also note the new jacket...apparently Dick thought I might have not have dressed warmly enough so I got a new Broncos jacket which kept me toasty warm and dry. Thanks sweety!!!


No post of mine would be complete without bragging on the dogs. Whew, having two dogs is exhausting but fun. The two of them are constant entertainment for me. Here they are sharing a toy....can you believe how big she is and how big he's getting????

He may be growing but he's still a big baby and he adores Dick. He's quite the snuggler and loves being close...especially in the mornings when we're all cuddled up in bed. This was Saturday when it was cold and drizzly outside and we were watching "Ironman" which I loved...


Here's another flying dog pic...every single time I get out my camera one of the dogs goes flying towards me. Cody is at that stage where his ears are too big for his head...what a cutie.

Tomorrow my sister, Donna, is coming into town from Louisiana and we are driving her new car down to Louisiana. Yep, you heard me...she's flying in mid-afternoon and as soon as I get home from work, we are hitting the road South. It will take us about 17 hours to get to Houston where we'll stay with friends Saturday night then she'll head home in her new car and I'll catch a flight home. What a whirlwind weekend, but I am looking forward to so much quality time with her.

We'll try to remember to take some road trip pictures...4 states in 1.5 days!!! Stay posted.

Sunday Updates

Happy Sunday!! I hope everyone had a great weekend. We are having the most beautiful weather here in Colorado...warm, sunny days and cool, dry nights. It doesn't get any better than this. Our beautiful maple tree in the front yard has turned a beautiful autumn red and is losing its leaves - winter is just around the corner. That's amazing, isn't it? I don't know where the summer went. I didn't do any of the things I wanted to do and here we are, getting ready for ski season.

My ankle is feeling much better but I haven't started running on it yet. Sally and I went for a 2 hour hike yesterday in Boulder...it felt great to be outside and moving. I've started going back to the gym...if I'm not going to run, I have to do something! I've also started taking a yoga class at lunchtime and all that stretching is making me feel great. I've exercised my whole adult life so to have now spent over a year basically doing nothing felt yucky, yucky, yucky. I don't think there are any more marathons in my future but I do hope to get up and running again.

I know time is flying because we're so busy but it doesn't make it any easier. Here's Dick and I at the Broncos game last week...we had a great time, making a day of it and we won!

Work has been busy too and the pups keep me busy at home. Here's some puppy love for you. Cody is 4 months old now and boy, is he a cutie and sweet!

The two of them are really getting along well and together, they make my heart melt.

They can be very attentive when Dick has treats!!

I've been spending alot of time in my craft room, working on Christmas cards and other things. It's been a long time since I felt any creative mojo, but spending the weekend with Suze in Chicago....chatting and visiting paper and stamp stores has gotten my creative juices going again. I don't think I've ever posted any of my cards but here's one that I made last weekend that I thought came out pretty well. It's a bad big but it looked really good in person and who knows, someone reading this blog may be the lucky recipients!!!

And last, but definitely not least, Dick has been travelling alot this year but is just short of making his normal United 1K status so to help him along, we're going here for 3 days in November - Munich, Germany. It will be a quick trip but we're always up for an adventure. We've been once before but it was at the tail end of a whirlwind 17 day trip and I didn't really enjoy the city. I'm looking forward to spending the weekend there and getting to know it a little better.

Have a great week!!!

Work Work Work

I've been swamped at work lately and with Dick out of town, my nights are filled with puppy duties. So here's a little fun info about me today. This is from the Very Good Taste blog and it's 100 things they thing every good omnivore should eat in their life. Here goes:



1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/ linking to your results.


The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison

2. Nettle tea

3. Huevos Rancheros

4. Steak Tartare

5. Crocodile

6. Black pudding

7. Cheese fondue

8. Carp

9. Borscht

10. Baba Ghanoush

11.Calamari

12. Pho

13. PB&J Sandwich

14. Aloo gobi

15. Hot dog from a street cart

16. Epoisses

17. Black truffle

18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes

19. Steamed pork buns

20. Pistachio ice cream

21. Heirloom tomatoes

22. Fresh wild berries

23. Foie gras

24. Rice & Beans

25. Brawn or head cheese

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper

27. Dulce de leche

28. Oysters

29. Baklava

30. Bagna cauda

31. Wasabi peas

32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl

33. Salted lassi

34. Sauerkraut

35. Root beer float

36. Cognac with a fat cigar3

7. Clotted cream tea

38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O

39. Gumbo

40. Oxtail

41. Curried goat

42. Whole insects

43. Phaal

44. Goat’s milk

45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more

46. Fugu

47. Chicken Tikka masala

48. Eel

49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut

50. Sea urchin

51. Prickly Pear

52. Umboshi

53. Abalone

54. Paneer

55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal

56. Spaetzle

57. Dirty gin martini

58. Beer above 8% ABV

59. Poutine

60. Carob chips

61. S'mores

62. Sweetbreads

63. Kaolin

64. Currywurst

65. Durian

66. Frogs’ legs

67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake

68. Haggis

69. Fried plaintain

70. Chitterlings, or andouillette

71. Gazpacho

72. Caviar and blini

73. Louche absinthe

74. Gjetost or brunost

75. Roadkill

76. Baijiu

77. Hostess Fruit Pie

78. Snail

79. Lapsang souchong

80. Bellini

81. Tom yum

82. Eggs Benedict

83. Pocky

84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.

85. Kobe Beef

86. Hare

87. Goulash

88. Flowers

89. Horse

90. Criollo chocolate

91. Spam

92. Soft shell crab

93. Rose Harissa

94. Catfish

95. Mole poblano

96. Bagel and lox

97. Lobster Thermidor

98. Polenta

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

100. Snake

Wow, looking through my list, I'm a pretty good eater and there's really nothing on here that I wouldn't try...lots of things I don't want to eat but nothing I wouldn't play around with.

IKEA & Puppy Update

I am so excited...on the front page of the Denver Post this morning: Ikea coming to Colorado!!! I am thrilled, even though it will be close to 2 years before it's finished. In our current house, Ikea furniture wouldn't really fit in with our decor but when we were Townhouse living in Virginia, it was perfect. But, they have the most awesome prices and selection of kitchenware, dishes, glass jars...I can't wait!!!

Puppy update. There's a reason puppies are so cute! This morning I went outside to find a large hole in the middle of my outdoor sofa cushion and a puppy pulling out stuffing. Since I did not see the original crime occur, I don't know who started it although I am pretty sure it was Kimi, the big sister who was the original perpetrator. Cody just got caught living off the spoils!!!

A Puppy Fix!

This is Kimi & Cody's favorite spot to hang out...our new bathroom...I'm sure the tile is cool on their little Berner tummies. And aren't they just the sweetest looking things? And so innocent....
Oh wait...this is what happens in puppies favorite spot when he & Kimi get hold of Mommy's nice bathroom rugs that keep her toes nice and cozy warm in the winter!!! Good thing we got the radiant heat in the floor!!! Can you see the little pieces of blue yarn scattered throughout? They were also scattered throughout the bedroom so apparently a tug of war had occurred!!!

But look at this adorable thing and you know why I can hardly stay mad for a second....

and here he is tonight...a whopping 21 pounds of pure fluff and cuteness.