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!!!!!