Jasperillous Espinoza von Tragerberg Smith the Third

I promised you the sweet story of how we met our Jasper, and so I shall relate it. Here is the long version, even though the short version is nice too.

As already discussed, we decided to go backpacking in the Rockies near Boulder. Based on the suggestion of the Forest Service worker, we decided to go to Jasper Lake for our first (and actually, only) night. On our hike in, we met some friends of ours from Linguistics hiking out with their dog. We had heard about him as a puppy, but never got the chance to meet him. As Peter and I petted him, we mentioned how excited we were for the day we would get our own dog, as we had been waiting for this since moving to Boulder almost four years ago. (Foreshadowing!)

We made it to Jasper Lake, fished, got bitten by mosquitos, woke up very sore and decided to cut the trip short and hike out, rather than continuing on. Instead, we took a lovely day hike straight up the side of a mountain, wherein we watched a group of 8 backpackers and a dog almost fall down the rocky slope, and watched a pack actually fall hundreds of feet with baited breath before we could confirm with our binoculars that it was only a pack, and not a very-probably-dead person lying at the bottom.

On our hike out, only a mile or so from the lake, I heard a woman say something to the effect of "Anyone want a dog?" I was thinking it was more along the lines of a joke, like when your kid is misbehaving and you jokingly offer them to a stranger. But no, this woman, Becca, was a foster mom to this dog, whose name happened to be Jasper, just like the lake we had just come from. He seemed very calm and sweet (of course, this was probably six miles into a hike, so most dogs would be at that point!) and she proclaimed him the best dog she had ever fostered. Even better? When we expressed concern that we lived in a condo, she said she did as well and since Jasper was a fence jumper, but had a great temperament, they thought a condo would actually be preferred. She got my phone number to text me the website of the rescue group, and we headed off on our merry ways.

The entire hike down, Peter and I were thinking about Jasper off and on. Could this work out? Could we have just met our dog? All of the reasons we had for concern (condo, lack of time for training, leaving for vacation in a week) had an easy answer with Jasper (fence jumper, only needs fine tuning for training, Becca would love to watch him while we were gone). For some reason, the name of the rescue group, Safe Harbor, stuck in my mind as well. As soon as we got home, I looked them up.

Immediately, I was nervous. "Must have a fenced yard" was right there on the front page. Would they let us be Jasper's parents? Becca said a condo was OK, but what if she was mistaken? We filled out the online application (which was full of seriously intense questions, many of which we didn't have an answer to) and waited. Nothing. A few days later (or less?), Becca let me know Safe Harbor had not gotten the application. Huh? So we filled it out again (thank goodness auto fill remembered most of the answers!). Still nothing, she said. She gave me a number to call so I could fill it out over the phone.

At the end of the phone call with the volunteer slash adoption coordinator, the woman said the next steps were either to adopt Jasper or to foster him for a few days to see how it would go. Woah! At the beginning of the conversation, I wasn't even sure if they would let us have him! Now we could just have him?

Before we did that, we went over to Becca's to see him again, since ten minutes on the trail after many miles of hiking may not be the best indicator for compatibility. At her place, we were even more in love. He seemed to recognize us, or at least sense us for the petting-suckers we are, and stayed by our sides the entire time we were there. He even graced us with his funny smile he gives when he's really excited or happy (like baring his teeth, but friendly and goofy). We were hooked.

A few days later, we met with the Safe Harbor rep, signed some contracts promising to be good to him and he was ours! With all of the stars that had to align for this, it really does feel a little bit fated, or at least, very, very lucky. I honestly still can't believe that he is ours.

Even as I type that, I have a cold little icicle of fear in my heart because one of the things the rep told us was that since he was not surrendered (he was found in Nebraska covered in ticks), theoretically his owner could come back and claim him. Since he is such a good dog, it's clear he was not a stray his whole life and I'm terrified that he jumped a fence somewhere and has a home that misses him terribly. On the other hand, he could have been abandoned by a family overwhelmed. Impossible to say. I just hope that Safe Harbor's record of never having a dog reclaimed holds true for us and he gets to stay with us forever.

Weekenders

Update! I officially, officially submitted my thesis (though of course it needs one tiny change, so I'm STILL not totally done!). HOORAY!!!! Once it is all done, I will be thrilled beyond measure. As of today, it should all be taken care of, but I thought the same thing Friday and again on Monday.

We went backpacking this weekend in the mountains not too far outside of town and had an incredible time, complete with adventures, fish and chance encounters with friends. We had planned to go for two nights, but it turns out that a five-year hiatus is not good training for backpacking, particularly at high elevation, so it turned out to be a good thing for our bodies that we headed back early so Peter could work on project for his summer class. The hips, they still hurt!

Unlike many people, we did not move to Colorado specifically for the outdoor opportunities, but they are a lovely benefit that we don't advantage of often enough. In an effort to correct this, I pretty much demanded of Peter that we go camping/backpacking at least once this summer. And so we did!

Proof:

Lots to write about

Just got back from a great weekend with the girls, including soaking in a hot springs with a surprisingly respectful nude man, many bottles of wine, and lots of great conversation. Also, we have an adorable, wonderful new member of our family sprawled on the floor, listening to both of us clacking on our computers.

Working on a post that has lots of pretty pictures of our previous weekend adventures, plus the heartwarming story of how we met our new "fur-child." Stay tuned!

The perfect childless weekend

In a couple (several? more?) years, when we have little ones who take up every second of our days and nights, I hope we can remember this past weekend fondly, because even as it was happening, I thought, "we could never, ever do this with kids and we are having so much fun!"

First, we threw a double surprise party for our friends who are getting married in a couple months (sort of a late engagement party/early shower), which we claimed was a surprise birthday party for ANOTHER friend, in order to get the engaged friends here, but then we double surprised the birthday girl (who knew it was really an engagement party) with a special dessert and singing. Got it? Any way, it was amazingly fun and everyone had a great time. The guests of honor ended up spending the night (yay!) and we played Rock Band until 3 AM. Not possible with little ones, though we probably got more sleep even doing that (and waking up at 8 AM to make breakfast) than we will with kids.

I then took a nap (Nap #1), worked on my thesis revisions, then we went tubing on Boulder Creek with some other friends. I have wanted to tube Boulder Creek ever since we moved here four years ago, and spent the majority of that time living right on the Creek. However, I was always too scared because the water was too high (at least a person a year has died in the creek since we've been here, though not all were participating in water sports), or then the water was WAY too low to even imagine being able to float in anything. Luckily, this year has been a very wet one, but it's late enough in the season that the flow is more normal. Plus, it's nice and hot, which is VERY IMPORTANT because the water is effing cold.

I need to buy a waterproof camera because then I could have captured at least some of the incredible beauty we saw. It was ridiculously idyllic. As we floated under the bridge of the public library, families picnicked on the banks, dogs fetched sticks in the creek and children cooled their feet. A mandolin and banjo player provided the soundtrack, in counterpoint with childish laughter and splashing. The dappled sunlight came through the wide shady trees and highlighted the creek as it fell over small boulders, looking like jade lit from within. And then, as we watched the people watching us from the bridge high above us, the cottonwoods let loose their fairy puffs to drift down over the scene like light, glittering snow.

It was impossibly beautiful and I'm almost glad I didn't have a camera because I don't know if a physical image could live up to the one in my own mind.

When we were numb and shivering, after about four trips down the creek, we called it a day and ate pita sandwiches (this IS Boulder!). Then I took Nap #2. It was lovely.

And there you have it. A weekend made all the sweeter for the fact that we were actually able to do it at this point in our lives.

Nothing like a deadline

We are entertaining on Saturday, partly as a way to create a deadline for ourselves to finish up some of out projects. Thanks to this looming deadline, we (read: Peter) have:

• installed the new faucet in the guest bathroom
• finished painting ALL of the kitchen drawers and doors
• installed all but two of the previously painted doors
• installed hardware on most drawers and all installed doors
• made the under-cabinet light switch look pretty and not all janky
• bought a new-to-us rug from Craig's List for the living room
• lowered and fixed the dining room chandelier
• bought a leather ottoman/bench/coffee table for the living room
• put most of our electronic paraphernalia in said ottoman (storage FTW!)
• fixed the wire nest of doom trailing from the TV and router off the mantle (Peter is magic)

And then, the bestest thing of all, Peter went and surprised me by getting these super sweet chairs from Costco that we had been wanting, but that were all sold out at our local store. They are super pretty, SUPER cheap, and basically two-for-one! I will definitely take some pictures once everything is all snazzy for the social engagement.

Too bad that even with all of that done, we still have so much more to do. Installing the last 5 kitchen doors, caulking the counters, putting trim on, touching up paint, etc. etc. The worst part is that the more we get finished, the more the unfinished stuff sticks out. I guess we'll just have to plan another social engagement in a few weeks!

And don't worry, pictures will be forthcoming, once things are a bit more cleaned up!

Summer time!

Bad blogger, bad! Other than passing my thesis defense (woohoo!!!), very little has changed around here. The week between my return and Peter's was only punctuated by the defense and the awesome friends who came out and supported me, and then meeting with a few friends to get me out of the house and give me a reason to shower.

Other than that, we have started unpacking some of the boxes, I found and filled my awesome "new" dresser that I scored on Craig's List (I love the first blush of ogranization, when all of the shirts are neatly folded and every category of clothing has its own space. We'll see how long it lasts) and I slept and read a lot of Internet.

Since Peter got back, we've been at warp speed, but doing lots of social things with friends who were probably just so thankful I am done with that stupid thesis! We've moved friends, Rock Banded with friends, danced at our friends' wedding, and breakfasted with friends at far too early an hour (you are awesome for getting up so early on a Saturday, Dan!). However, the kitchen looks exactly the same as it did three weeks ago, no doors have been painted nor installed. Ah well, can't have everything!

Oh! And we got new iPhones after my 3.5 year old phone leapt to its death. We had been planning on getting them very soon anyway, but this sped the process up. Hooray!

In brief

I've been internet-less for the past week and a half while visiting the in-laws in Michigan. Awesome time, but now I'm playing catch up (per uzh with vacations, I think). So here's the news in brief:

Preparing for thesis defense tomorrow. Alternating between confidence with progress and abject terror.

Still living amid boxes. In-laws nicely dropped off about 20 more filled with the hubby's paraphernalia from growing up (they are preparing to move too). Let's just say boy collected a LOT of stamps.

One of the boxes has these amazing little books that cover all kinds of topics. Thus far, the ones I can't wait to read are "Esperanto for Beginners" and "An Introduction to Philology (The Science of Language)." Other extremely promising titles: "Sex in Psychoanalysis," "Hypnotism Made Plain" and "How to Psycho-Analyze Yourself: A Confidential Analysis of Your Personality." All published around 1923-1924. Amazing.

In Michigan, we killed some time at a Big Lots, discovering $3 DVDs. Most miraculously, MANY of the movies were my kind of stylistic, esoteric films, like Adaptation, The Squid and the Whale, and Lost in Translation. God bless northern Michiganders who would rather see big blockbusters for sending these to Big Lots. I bought 15 of them.

Made a to-do list in MI (while I was avoiding thinking about doing any work). Fills a page of a legal pad.

Sat next to an 8-year-old on the flight from Chicago to Denver flying alone. Cutest damn kid ever, but a bit of a hellion. Too smart for his own good, but reminded me of how smart kids can be (you can get myopic only working with the kids we usually see as SLPs). Reading, spelling, and doing multiplication on his own and not even in second grade.

Got to visit Amish country in MI. Awesome because it's almost totally untouched by tourism. Considering the last Amish country I went to was Lancaster, PA, where I seriously had to leave it was so touristy, this was amazing. Everyone was so friendly and just living a normal life. Very awesome.

In-laws' house in MI is amazing. Right on the lake with a dock and everything. Saw wild turkey, baby fawn (with spots!), lots of birds and fish. Fished every night till dusk at 10:30. Had visions of FIL teaching our kids to fish. Also found out that the line of grandfathers and grandsons fishing together goes back to Peter's grandfather learning from HIS grandfather in Germany. So our kids def. need to learn how to fish, regardless of gender.

Considering doing some stress baking for the defense tomorrow. A dear friend is making brownies. Cookies would be a nice addition, no? Plus, I could break in our new oven. Hmm... can I find all the ingredients and tools needed? What about the cookbooks?

Finally, so grateful for all of the support I've gotten from friends for my defense. They are amazing. The end.

Kitchen Pictures

So I realized in looking over my recent posts that I have left a lot out in the kitchen update. Mostly it's because I feel like each step deserves a nice long post detailing what we did and how we did it (since it's all DIY), but frankly, that takes too long so the post goes unfinished. Since we are going to Michigan soon with the relatives and will have no internet for DAYS at a time (oh, the humanity!), I thought I would post some of the pictures I have taken of the various stages, with limited commenting interruption. If you desire any comments on any pictures, let me know and I will write about them.

Keep in mind that all of the pictures are "in progress" pictures. I will hopefully have pretty pretty post-renovation pictures after we get back.

Please see the before pictures before reading on to refresh your memory and help see the changes.

Safety is #1!



New microwave frees up counter space.


Not technically part of our kitchen, but this sweet pantry will free up a ton of cabinet space in the kitchen (which is great, since we didn't have enough in the last place, and we have even fewer here!)
So hopefully that gives a better indication of where we are now. In looking through these pictures, I realize we still don't have a very recent picture with the new fridge, sink and under cabinet lights on. Ah well, that will save some surprise for the final picture!

I can say this: doing all of this work ourselves has made me immeasurably proud (even if Peter has done pretty much all of the heavy lifting), and has allowed us to get a gorgeous kitchen for a fraction of the price of most renovations. I'll have to figure out the costs when all is said and done. Really, the only place we've gone much over what we had thought was in purchasing the various tools necessary to do the jobs, but those are reusable and MUCH cheaper than a contractor! I now actually WANT to cook and spend time in the kitchen, which Peter would probably say is worth the time and money (at least, as long as I can improve my cooking skills!).

With those pictures off my chest (and hard drive), I am off to bed so I can rise to unpack another day.

Water: the giver of life

We have running water in the kitchen! Not only that, but a functioning dishwasher! My days as the "dish fairy" are OVER! (Well, except for pots and pans, but after doing every. single. dish. BY. HAND. for the last four years, I'm OK with that).

In addition, all of the counters are done, microwave is in and the kitchen is almost done! If only stupid Target had not been out of the only two kinds of contact paper we liked on the last visit, we could have actually put all of our dishes and things away. Perhaps Home Depot will treat us better tomorrow.

Pictures! OK! Here are some teasers:


I promise more when the kitchen is in better shape for photographing!

Thesis draft complete!

Thesis sent to committee. Defend in two weeks. Off to sleep

Gratitude

Weather here has been CRAZY the past week: heavy rain, massive thunder and lightning, hail and actual, literal tornadoes touching down almost every afternoon. TORNADOES! This is Colorado, people, and not the Nebraska part of Colorado either. Thankfully, we haven't had any in town, just in the county. I would not know what to do if there were a tornado here. Anyway, today as I am standing under our lovely wide eaves, watching the rain pour down, cascading off the roof and filling up the drainage "pond" across the way, I realize how very, very thankful I am that I can be inside and dry and not out there and wet.

On our cross country trip, pretty much our first stop was Oregon. I was born there, we still have lots of family friends there, and it's lovely. It also rains a lot. I knew this. Our first night there, in early September, we pitch the tent and decide to leave the bulky rain fly off because it is so gorgeous and we want to be able to see the stars through the mesh roof. You see where this is going. We did not.

2 AM or so, we feel the drops, Peter gets the fly on (which is still in the car, I think), and we never sleep in the tent again on the trip (our minivan was WAY comfier anyway). We are also not dry again until almost a week later. Oregon, you see, gets a lot of rain. Well, a lot of drizzle. We were perpetually damp with no way to really get dry, since everything we owned was also wet. And in the small minivan. And the humidity was always 100%. As Nevadans, this was WAY too much wetness for us.

About a week later, after much damp camping, hiking and cooking, we arrived at the home of one of those Oregonian family friends previously mentioned. Honestly, I have never been so happy in my life to be in a SHELTER, a place that would shield me from the elements and keep me warm and dry.

I don't ever want to forget that feeling of gratitude for simple shelter. As much as I love redoing the kitchen and making our new place pretty and welcoming, I truly love the walls, the roof and the floor, which protect us and keep us safe. I am grateful we have that much when so many others out there do not.

Writing on purloined internet

All of our belongings are now in one place, but now we have the challenge of trying to remember where everything is. Making a bagel the first morning required hunting for: a bread knife to cut the bagel (5 minutes), a plate (never found, used a paper towel), and a butter knife (used a paring knife with some success). Pretty much every activity has required a similar search for at least one necessary item.

Our first piece of the counter is in and looks gorgeous. We also now have a microwave (hooray!) so we can kind of cook some things at least. The stove will go back in once all of the counters are installed. I can't wait for all of the counters to go in! I will post some pictures once we have real internet again.

In other news, I am employed! I don't start until August or September, but I am thrilled and a little scared, but I know it will be great once I start. Hope to post more tomorrow!

Stuck in between

I have a lovely post in the works with more pictures of the kitchen floor, but I was rudely interrupted by a little thing called MOVING. Yes, that time is upon us, when you open a drawer to butter your bagel and discover all of the silverware, including the knives, is at the other place. Repeat 100 times daily, and add in 50 or more trips up and down seven flights of stairs carrying heavy boxes and furniture and you have our life!

We spent our first night in our own bed at the new place last night, though we had to leave early this morning to come back to the old place for several reasons, including the fact that our kitchen is not currently functioning yet (no countertops, though we have purchased them, microwave comes today, new fridge not until next week).

In good news: we are *almost* done, though we have the most annoying loads left wit lots of large, awkward and fragile things. Fun! As mentioned, we also purchased the countertops, and I think they are going to look beautiful. However, they clash horribly with the wooden trim we were going to paint anyway, but now we really need to paint it. More sanding. Ugh.

Bad news is that we are not done moving yet and we need to be out by tomorrow. We can do it, but it will be a push to get everything out and the place cleaned in time. Other bad news is that once everything is moved, we need to actually unpack and figure out how to make the new place livable with all of our furniture and crap. I think Goodwill and dumpster divers will be very happy in the coming week, not to mention Craig's List.

Before we can even think about really unpacking, we have GOT to finish the kitchen. The stove is in the dining room, construction materials take up half the living room and there is just no space for anything.

I would upload some new pictures, but I'm pretty sure the camera cord is packed.

Post and run

Quick post, gotta finish the thesis draft, but I'm too excited not to show pics. We got the floor done last night and all of the cabinet frames painted! Only doors left to do.

Far away pic of finished cabinets:

Sneak peek in bad lighting of AWESOME new floor. More details on the how-to with better pictures hopefully soon.

My Mama

I have the bestest mommy in all the land. Through various twists of fate, she had a week off after my brother's graduation and plans to come to Boulder BEFORE we had even bought our new place, let alone knew we needed to finish our major renovation of the kitchen, packing our stuffed apartment, moving and finishing my thesis, all the very same week. Thank GOD for moms.

So today she selflessly went to the apartment to finish the painting of the cabinets so we could install the floors tonight, while I stayed at home and made major progress on my thesis. Just in time too because I had a dream last night that one of my teeth broke out of my mouth and that is never a good sign. Not to mention that I wake up early when I am stressed and I woke up before 6 this morning (6:30 is normal level of stress lately, 8 AM is no stress).

I will definitely post pictures of the "after" when I get there, but I know that even yesterday, when we got the final coat on most of one of the cabinets, the difference was amazing. The difference between primer, first, and second coats is like a revelation with each coat. I can't wait to get the doors done and hung! It's going to be SUCH an improvement!

So now we are on a dinner break, we'll all go back to the condo and start putting in the floor! With any luck, we should be able to get it mostly, if not all, done tonight, which would be beyond wonderful. I still have some holes to fill in before I can say I have finished my thesis (unfortunately, not to the final draft yet, but close!), so I hope we have some time tonight so I can turn this puppy over to my adviser! And none of it would have been possible without my amazing mama!

Pictures tomorrow!

Priming and Painting (with Pictures!)

I promised you pictures, and now I shall deliver. Sadly, they are not the stunning "after" pictures. Not yet. Next week I'd better be able to deliver, since we need to move in!

First we have the sanded, but unprimed cabinets on the right. The cabinet in the middle will soon be replaced by a shiny new microwave/hood, to save on our precious counter space. It is now sitting on the floor, after being ripped off of the wall by my manly husband.

Next we have the primed and partly-painted left cabinets! The faces and the part of the inside of the far left cabinet have their first coat of the white we are using. It's True Value "Charming Smile," I think. Let me just say that this line of paints (one of the few oil-based we could get in eco-friendly Boulder) has the WORST names ever. Other brands have names like "Sandy Beaches" or "Porcelain." These ones are named things like: "Family Dinner," "Chicken Wire," and I wish I was making this up, "Irony." Who the hell wants to paint their dining room in irony?

Honestly, I just went to their website, because I could only remember Irony, and when I got to the part I was looking for, I didn't even realize I was looking at the paint color names at first they were so bad AND I ALREADY KNEW THEY WOULD BE AWFUL. Here's some more from the page, for sheer entertainment value: Sideshow, Continuous, Close Knit, Significant Journey, Audition, Fragile Heart, Aristocracy, etc. ad infinitum! I think they just picked words out of a hat. OK, rant over. I'm just bitter I have to say my cabinets are "Charming Smile," even though some of the other contenders were WAY worse.


Finally, the primed cabinet doors. These now also have their first coat, so they do look better, though I think because of the cheapo wood used on the panels, they *might* need a third coat. We'll see how they look after the second. I am posting these so other people attempting to paint their cabinets know what to expect after the primer coat.


I am super grateful for our decent-sized porch. It would have been much messier to do the power sanding and the painting inside, so it's very nice to have. Plus, we get to look at this while we paint:
Yup, we lucked out.

Balancing Act

Yesterday was priming day. Today was thesis/job interview day. Wednesday and Thursday will be lather, rinse, repeat.

How did the priming go? I'm glad you asked (and sorry to say, still no pictures! I was too busy working to take them). I think it went pretty well. I hope. I'll let you know after tomorrow, when the first coat goes on. After some stirring issues (you need to stir oil-based primer a LOT), I got it to where it needed to be and it was very enjoyable and relatively quick after that. I finished all the doors that were sanded (a few need some touch ups), all of the floor cabinet faces and all of the wall-mounted cabinets on the left. Tomorrow I will finish priming the insides of the left cabinets and do all of the right cabinets, plus get the first coat of paint onto what was primed yesterday. Fun!

I also picked up a light fixture for the kitchen I scored on Craig's List ($20). Luckily it fits perfectly into our little cubby.

Today I switched gears and did more professional stuff: thesis writing and my first job interview. It went really, really well and there should be an offer as soon as I send in my transcripts (yay!). I also have three more interviews this week and next, so I won't be rushing off to accept the first position that comes my way. I am very, very grateful to be in this position, but I have also worked my ass off and spent the past four years in grad school to be here. But still, so lucky and happy to be in a profession that is still in demand.

Tomorrow: finish as much painting as possible!

Weekend Renovations

Ahh, our first weekend filled to the brim with home improvement. Or: How I learned to avoid Home Depot on a Saturday afternoon at all costs.

I was just kidding about the floors being the next thing. We realized that we should paint the overhead cabinets before we put in the floors, just in case. Ergo, Saturday and Sunday were spent sanding, sanding and sanding all of the cabinets. Peter got to buy not one, not two, but THREE new orbital sanders for the job. (SO worth the $60, BTW, if you plan on repainting many things that have flat surfaces).

Why three sanders, you ask? The first was the one we planned on getting. He did the research and it was decently priced (local hardware store, not the depot of homes or Lowe's). Then two different store workers mentioned this other "finishing" sander they had in their semi-annual tent sale outside. Regularly $70 for $30! So of course he had to get one. Turns out, it worked better than the original one, so he got another one on sale so multiple people could sand at once, with the idea of selling it or giving it to a friend afterward. Sweet!

So Peter and our friend, KyKy (hereby dubbed such in the bloggle), manned (literally) the power sanders on Sunday while my friends and I hand sanded all the little molding parts that the power stuff can't get to. We tried other methods, but hand sanding worked the best. Unfortunately for us.

So now it is Sunday night and all the cabinets are sanded, cleaned and ready to be primed tomorrow. Which I get to do by myself because Peter has this "job" thing he has to do. Lame.

I should have taken pictures, but it really wasn't that exciting. Just imagine us in face masks and everything pretty much covered in wood dust, and there you have it. I'll try to take some pictures tomorrow of my progress (should any be made).

New chandelier and destruction of the kitchen

Sorry for that tease! I hit publish accidentally, and then didn't have the time to actually write the post at that moment (life!).

So here it is for realsies:

I will be documenting our renovation progress here, for the benefit of any who might care (and for our own memories down the road!). As mentioned in the last post, we made some good progress over the weekend.

Here is what the kitchen looked like "before" (with the seller's staging stuff):



And here is the destructive "during." My brother and Peter had a good time taking out all of the appliances and cabinets from the kitchen:



And then put them all in the living room:

Good thing we aren't living here yet! Our sole goal is to get this kitchen done before we have to move in (June 4th is when we need to be out of our current apartment).

We are redoing the floors by putting plank vinyl in that looks like wood, and so needed everything out. I am very happy we did so because we found that the builder (30 years ago!) didn't put the vinyl all the way under the cabinets, which led to some water damage near the sink. Luckily, it wasn't that bad and we just had to replace a patch of drywall . Our hope is that the new flooring extending all the way across the floor will help protect against any possible damage to the floor.

We are thrilled about the plank vinyl because: 1) it's very cheap, but looks decent, which is great for this place as we plan on making it a rental in a couple years; and 2) it is one of the easiest types of flooring to put in yourself. It cost us a little over $100 to replace that god-awful '70s floor (which we found had some pretty damaged spots)!

OK, next exciting thing. The dining "room" (nook?) had an awful, awful chandelier. To wit:

This weekend, Brother and Peter made my heart sing by switching it out for this:

And in context with the framed poster we will hang on the wall in the dining nook (along with construction crap):


SO much better! You may notice a strong theme in our renovations: inexpensive updates. This place is not and will never be a luxury condominium. The people who rent here are largely students and we are mostly hoping to make this place more inviting while we live here, as well as hoping to attract a slightly better renter by having more updated things.

Stay tuned for he next project! Installing the floors! How will the missing vinyl pieces affect our timeline and our budget? Is the plank vinyl as easy as they say? Will it look better than the '70s trip to Mexico vinyl?

Awesome Days

The past three days have been great. My last day of my internship, Thursday, was really great, with a field trip and lots of sweet cards made by my kids. Then Thursday night, we surprised my parents, who had flown in earlier that day, with my brother, who we flew in as a Mother's Day surprise.

Friday was graduation, which was wonderful because I got to see all of my classmates, most of whom I haven't seen since December when we all went out on internships. We were a pretty close class, or at least as close as you can be with almost 30 students. Every single person in the class was amazing in their own way and brought so much to our department. It was a little sad seeing everyone too, since we probably won't all ever be together again. I also got a very honoring and humbling award, particularly so because my class was so great that so many others were just as deserving.

Saturday, we had a great picnic hosted by several of my friends in our graduating class. It was a perfect Colorado party: hanging out at Chautauqua with great friends under a perfect Colorado sunny sky, great beer, great food and cornhole. What more do you need? Then after the picnic, we found this incredible place that is kind of like an organized junk yard with home improvement/construction stuff (think salvaged doors, cabinets, faucets, and other we went to our new place and again I wished that my family lived closer. After exploring there, we went back to the new place, where my brother and Peter replaced the hideous brass chandelier with a much nicer nickel one, thereby making my day.

Sunday was the day of demolition. After a lovely Mother's Day brunch, the boys got everything out of the kitchen, including the low cabinets and all appliances, so that we are now almost ready to put the flooring in. We still need to figure out what we are doing with the sink cabinet, that won't require shutting off the water to the entire building, but we should be able to cross that bridge by tomorrow.

My parents left today, but the brother remains. It was so very nice to have everyone in town and it was really fun to have everyone helping out with the renovations in the new place. I feel much more optimistic about our chances of getting everything done before we have to move in at the end of the month, but only if we keep plugging along!

My head is going to explode

My head hurts. Has hurt all day, ever since I started to count up the things I need to do in the very near slash immediate future. My family flies in tomorrow for my graduation, our apartment is a wreck (per usual, lately), moving boxes are piled in the little open space we do have, I am finishing my internship tomorrow, I need to write about 30 pages of my thesis (read: finish a complete draft) by next week, remodel the kitchen, pick paint for every room of the new place, pack, apply for multiple jobs, etc.etc.etc. My head hurts again.

We are homeowners!

We did it! We closed today, got the keys and even moved in our very first box! We are filled with ideas for things to do to make the place our own and to update some of the original items. We were at Home Depot until they closed tonight, just wandering the aisles and dreaming. Very fun. We think we can probably give the kitchen a pretty nice face-lift for relatively little.

Off to dream of countertops, sinks and hardware!

Pictures to come.

In threes

I've often hear people say good and bad things happen in threes. I've even posted about it before. So when I got a phone call from Peter with not-excellent-news-but-could-certainly-have-been-worse-news about his job (he still has it, hooray!), and simultaneously got a text from a dear friend with not good news about their house search, I was waiting for the other (third?) shoe to drop. Luckily, I didn't have to wait too long. I got some frustrating news from a staff person at school who seems to have made a career out of messing up my life. Not on purpose, I know, but the errors, omissions and mistakes she has repeatedly made on my behalf have cost me a lot of frustration now even a few tears. I emailed her back, but of course it is after hours and she is OUT of there at the crack of five, so I will be lucky to get an answer tomorrow. Ugh. She really pisses me off sometimes. As long as this is the worst of it, I'll survive!

Lots of stress

You know how they say even good things can be stressful? I'm getting that in spades. Within the next month, we will be closing on our first home, moving into a new place, I will be finishing my internship (but it just started!), and looming above it all, I will need to finish my thesis. I want to vomit just thinking about it all.

Every time I get excited about decorating or moving, the specter of my unfinished thesis immediately rises up to remind me of more important things I should be doing (like, instead of blogging, I should be writing). In order to have a nice place with nice things and prepare for a nice life, I need to have a job. To have a job, I need to graduate. To graduate, I need to finish a thesis. To finish this fricking thesis, I need to work every waking hour, and then stay awake for some hours I would rather sleep through. Ugh.

Wish me luck!

Is it safe to post now?

I haven't given any updates on the dwelling-purchasing front, as I didn't want to jinx anything. However, things are looking good, so I will cautiously post an update. You probably won't get it all until we close and I can safely blog within our own new home (condo, but who's counting?).

So. Offer countered, counter accepted. Loan applied for, almost denied on basis of rental rate of building, rental exception approved. Loan almost denied due to change in income, alternative loan situation approved, with massive conditions. Conditions met, now loan in process. Inspection done, pretty good, request to sellers to fix a few minor things. Will hear by tomorrow with any counters to inspection requests.

I think we are all caught up now! Thrilling, no? Trust me, you really didn't want to have to go through all of those ups and downs and waiting periods in real time with us. Recap is much better (now apparently talking like Rorschach).

Currently daydreaming of painting cabinets, furniture placement and purging current possessions to make room for the lovely flat I have envisioned. However, my packrat tendencies may win out. We shall see.

Success? (!)

Well, so far so good! They countered our offer, and we accepted their counter. I know there is still a long way to go before this really happens, but this is the most important first step! I'm really excited about this place and think it will be great. Fingers crossed everything else goes well!

House Hunting: The end?

We're putting in what we think is a strong bid on an apartment here in town that we really like. Fingers crossed for this one to stick! I'll let you know what happens.

Quilt Update #2

News! All of my fabrics are here and I just finished cutting the first one! Very, very exciting. Below are the patterned fabrics with their coordinating solids, though I think I'm still going to play around some with the pairings. The great news is that since I knew that monitors never display the right color and since I was buying fabric from two different places, I couldn't tell how their colors might even remotely match up, I bought four more solid colors than I really needed. That way, I had a lot of options and could mix and match if my first choices didn't pan out, color-wise. Good thing too, since several of them were WAY more orange or pink or purple than I had hoped. (Extras not shown in the pictures below).






So there they are! Yay! I got a comment that I should maybe use the orange on the left (unpaired, currently) in one of the pairings to balance out the orange and the pink. I will have to play around some more and consult the mother of the girl for whom this quilt is destined.

Cutting!

I have cut the first fabric (the octopus print) and so far, so good. I have to say, the directions on Oh, Fransson! are impeccable. I have only had a few experiences piecing a quilt before, and her tips solved many of the frustrations I usually ran into. Mostly because I am an impatient person and not as careful as I should be. But her tips (expecially the one about cutting ON the grain) helped to make this an experience to bring out the perfectionist in me and to help me revel in the feeling of perfectly straight lines. We'll see how long this perfection lasts :-)

The good thing is that it seems like mistakes multiply in quilting, so the better off you start, the better off it will all be in the end. Hopefully it works OK!

Oh, and I should get my sewing machine fixed tomorrow. That will make me much, much happier!

For Jen

I got this from my friend Jen's blog In bold are the things I have done. I hope you all copy and paste it so I can read your lists!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (Well, Rock Band)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (though I'm not really good at any arts, just crafts)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Jeff can vouch for this one)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (really, just our ghetto cruise on the AK ferry, but still!)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (The German ones)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (shadow cuts count?)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt (currently doing so, too!)
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (I quit just before this might have happened)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (not yet!)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit (only class action)
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Cave Tubing in Belize

Quilt Update #1

Not too much to update. I've received the first fabrics I ordered and the coordinating solids should be here tomorrow (I hope they match! I really don't like fabric shopping on the internet, but I haven't found any stores that carry the specific fabric I am looking for in town). I ordered many different options, since it was only $4 a yard and I only need a 1/4 yard (so it was only a dollar to get several different colors to hedge my color bets).

I hope to get the fabric cut and prepared within the next couple days, and then I will be ready for sewing.

Sadly, I managed to break my sewing machine while cleaning it, so it's out of commission for a little while. It's really not broken, but I sure as hell can't get the piece I pulled out to go back in! I'm sure it will be very quick and obvious to the sewing machine guy who comes to JoAnn's every two weeks. He'll be there on Thursday, so I plan on stopping by. Also, I can't seem to get the walking foot I bought from him to work right, so hopefully he can help me with that too. Unfortunately, I don't have such high hopes for that one because I just don't see how it's going to work right with my machine.

Hmm... maybe if I really get into this, I will need to buy a sewing machine of my own! I'm using my mom's old workhorse, bought literally 40+ years ago, which still runs great...er, well, it did until I broke it. It's solid metal, solid as a rock, but has pretty much zero "features" and is so old that I may not be able to get different feet for it (see above). But then again, I've never even used the four other stitches it DOES have, so why would I need another 70 (or 300, or 1,000)? We'll see what sewing machine repair guys says about the foot. Free and working is much better than a couple hundred dollars and unknown.

Hopefully I will have pictures of fabric choices and/or cut fabric to post shortly!

Guilty Pleasures

I am doing something I shouldn't. I simply don't have time. But dammit, I'm making time!

Oh, Fransson! is doing a quilt-along, and I am joining in. I always have to have some kind of crafty project going on to inspire me, and I've gotten back into quilting again in the last month. Granted, I've never actually fully made a quilt before, but I have pieced a comforter cover with my mom, and (started) hand quilting a pillow top. I've just never done it all together. But now with the quilt along, I can do it virtually with more than 200 other people (fun!) and with some excellent, excellent instructions from oh fransson (I love how that is not her name at all, but that's what everyone calls her online).

Even though I am way behind everyone else (I haven't even ordered all of my fabric yet), I have already learned so many great tips and tricks, especially ones to avoid all of the pitfalls that would prevent me from continuing on a project in the past (imperfect seam allowances, unsquare-squares, etc.). It also makes me feel better to know that I'm not the only one who can't always sew in a straight line!

Without further ado, here is the quilt I will be making. I am making it for our neighbors' little girl, who is two and a half, so I wanted something girly and sweet, but not too gross, you know?

I will be using these fabrics:


To make this front:
And this back:

The first prints should come tomorrow, and then I will be ordering the coordinating solids. Yay!

My Dichotomy

I started my internship in the schools this week as one of my last requirements for my MA in speech-language pathology (aside from that pesky little thesis, of course). As promised by all of my friends, I absolutely love it. I mean, so far. I'm still just shadowing and not doing any actual work, but it's still awesome.

This experience coming hard on the heels of essentially three months of utter and complete freedom to work on my thesis has made me realize some interesting things about myself (or perhaps, myselves?).

When I was working on the thesis, I was completely engrossed in theoretical conjectures, abstract thought and lots of mental gymnastics. I was also in a room by myself. During this time, I became much more like the stereotypical crazy academic--muttering to myself as I walked across campus, getting caught by sudden inspiration at mealtimes with friends, feverishly jotting down notes on napkins, envelopes and even a paper tablecloth. I became completely self-centered, and yet was making great progress in my development of my thoughts.

When I started at my internship, I was constantly interacting with others. Though my practice required me to rely on my theoretical background, I had to apply my knowledge immediately and did not have time to sit and ponder much of anything at all. Abstractness was the enemy, since I was dealing with kindergartners who had the attention span of a gnat and teenagers who didn't really understand the concept of "never" and "always." Theory doesn't really work so well then. So I wasn't really thinking as much, but I was also a lot more socially appropriate and interactive.

Crazy thing is, I was utterly blissful in both situations. Well, that's not entirely true. I was much more "tormented" in the first scenario. I would debate with myself over various issues, get so frustrated with insolvable quandaries, etc. Tortured genius stuff, except without the genius part. Maybe that's why I was so tortured?

Regardless, I still found research very satisfying, particularly when I would have those little a-ha moments that make it all worthwhile. Having no schedule also helped too.

But I find therapy itself amazingly fabulously wonderful. I feel exactly like I did the day of my first observation of an SLP (a friend), and the day that I decided my course for sure. I thought to myself, "They PAY you to do this?" It was so fun, great, and seemed relatively easy. I felt like this was absolutely my calling, something I was born to do that utilized many of my talents. Not to mention, I could actually HELP people!

Oops... digression narrowly averted.

Essentially, I am finding that I am two different people to some extent when I am engaged in these two different activities. At some point in my life and career, I will need to decide how much of each I want to pursue and what kind of career that would entail. Professorship? Clinical supervisor? Clinician? Clinician who does research? Hmm... well, at least I don't need to decide just yet. I need to finish this degree first!

Idiocracy

Sheer stupidity in the Colorado legislature.

During debate Wednesday on Senate Bill 88 (to require HIV testing of pregnant women), Sen. David Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, said: "Sexual promiscuity, we know, causes a lot of problems in our state, one of which, obviously, is the contraction of HIV."

Also? Pregnancy. Also a possible consequence of promiscuity. However, pregnancy is also a possible consequence of monogamy, whatcha gonna do?

Such, SUCH a stupid comment on so very many levels, but I thought this aspect was a bit funny, given the people they are trying to test.

Local Linguistic Hilariousness

Life Update

Still looking for houses, but taking it a little easier, since we don't know where I'll be working yet, which could affect where we want to live (generally).

Working like mad on my thesis. I'm all done with data stuff, now I have to do a little analysis, and a LOT of writing. I should like writing, since I have a degree in it, but academic writing is never especially "fun." I got pretty inspired today, so maybe I'm over that initial hump of motivation. I only have a week and a half before I start my internship (and cease to have the wonderful flexibility I enjoy now), so I need to get CRACKING.

I've been quilting again. Well, actually just piecing so far, but I will get to the quilting phase soon. I picked up a project I left off several years ago, which is my pattern for projects. Start, make great headway, run into some stumbling block I can't see an easy solution to, put down for a couple years. Pick up again, realize whatever the problem was is no longer a problem and finish. It's all mental, but I'm a very mental person (in every sense of the word).

It's very late. I was waiting for Peter to say goodnight (my cue to come to bed), but he apparently went straight to bed. Oops. Now it's late and so I'm blogging (yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either).

I have reconnected with a whole group of friends from my high school youth group on Facebook. I haven't talked with most of them in well over ten years. They were my very best friends for the two years I was a part of it, so it's been great to reconnect. It's so interesting to me how my different groups of friends seem to take life paths similar to among the group members, but very different between groups. As in, in one of the groups, everyone has stayed in the same place, gotten married and/or had babies. In another, everyone is at least up to a master's, some are pursuing a PhD (a couple are almost done with their PhDs. I feel under-accomplished). I wonder sometimes how my Facebook profile looks to other people. Are they surprised at where I and and what I've done? Are they surprised I'm married? Do they compare their life to mine (who doesn't compare, in some way?). Do they think I'm nuts for getting two MA's? (I sometimes do, though I wouldn't change it for anything).

It's so interesting how much and how little we can learn from the information we put on the internet. Can you tell if a person is really happy? What do they do in their day to day life? What's really important to them? None of these things can really be gleaned from a profile. The best you can do is see if they are socially active, have supportive friends and see if they play a lot of Facebook games :-)

It's not after 1 AM and as much as I am not really tired, I should go to bed so I can get a relatively early start to my day of writing ahead of me. I have a meeting with my advisor tomorrow, and I really need something to show her (or at least prove I'm not just wasting all of my time). Sweet dreams to you all!

The New Economy

I love how all of a sudden, everyone is on the "economy" kick. I mean, I really don't love how lots of people are losing jobs, industries are collapsing, and everyone is losing their retirement fund in the stock market, but it does make me laugh that being frugal is now trendy. I laugh (albeit, somewhat bitterly) because we have been living in this mindset for the past three and half years (perhaps not-so-coincidentally when I started grad school and we had no jobs). And we got a little bit of flack for being really really tight with the money. You tend to be so when you need to pay rent, buy food, and yet have zero dollars in income. It happens.

Things are much better for us, relatively speaking, but I think the mindset is still a good one, especially because we are saving up for our house. Be more cautious of what you spend and where you spend it.

Can't wait!

So you guys, I'm getting a new camera! It's already been ordered and whatnot, but I must wait patiently for it to arrive. It's basically the same exact camera as my poor little trusty point-n-shoot, which has been making a very sad sound since August. Autofocuses (autofoci?) do not come cheap, whereas new cameras do. Relatively speaking.

When it comes, I will have to test it out! And post the results! And I can once again resume my spy-cam activities! OK, not really, but my current camera is fondly nicknamed "the spy-cam" because it is so NOT unobtrusive. I have scared more than one person and several little children with it.

I did, however, manage to take a picture of a sleeping fox with it today and the fox did not stir. I think he was VERY tie-tie, because he barely moved at all. Sadly, you all may have to wait for those not-very-good pictures of the fox because I can't seem to find my uploady cord. Just imagine a little red furry blob in the middle of a bunch of leaves and naked trees, and that's about what you would have seen. Also on that inaccessible memory card is a video of a two year old attempting to say "valleculae." That's for my speechie peeps out there :-)

Happy New Year!

This past year has been better for me than it has for a lot of people (not having much money to begin with helps when the world economy melts down), but I have high hopes that 2009 will be even better. Hopefully by this time next year, I will have finished my master's thesis, graduated, gotten a job, and (fingers crossed) we will have bought a house/condo/other abode.

Most of all, I've gotten even closer to friends and family and recognized how very blessed I am to have such wonderful people in my life.

Resolutions? I've never really been one for official-type resolutions, but I do think it's a good idea to take stock every so often and think about the future, and a new year is a handy time to do so. One thing I'd like to improve on is my blogging. I realized I have about 8 drafts sitting around waiting for me, and only one relatively recent post. Maybe I'll tackle some of those drafts to help spur the thesis writing that must commence quite shortly.

May the coming year be even happier and more enriching in all ways than those that preceded it!

Catching up on drafts: The first

First:

Woo-freaking-hoo!!!! I am done with this semester! The last semester of classes (for now, but maybe forever)! It just hit me walking back from dropping off some paperwork. I am SOOO happy!

Next:

Lots of people and websites do "best-of" lists or "a look back at the past year" this time of year, and usually these are fun, silly, and sometimes pointless. However, if you only look at one this year, you need to see The Big Picture's The Year 2008 in Photographs (click here for Part 1 of 3 to get started). This collection of 120 pictures (40 per installment) is an incredible look at the many, many different facets of this amazing world we live in. These photographs have a way of making the world feel so small, making the connections between all people so real and palpable. "Intimate" is an excellent word. So is "moving," "profound," and the ever popular hyphenated, one-word impostor: "don't-miss." So don't miss it!

Organized Living

I don't know why, but lately when I've seen something about "being an organized person," I feel a couple tiny hackles being raised inside me. I think organization is keen, I think organization is neat (pun intended), but I don't think organization is everything.

I don't think creativity can thrive in an organized world. Maybe for some people, but certainly not for me. The best ideas come from a jumbled up place inside. They are a brilliant flash uniting disparate threads of thought, coalescing in an unplanned instant.

I don't want to be an organized person. I wouldn't mind being able to find things when I need them, but I don't want to lose the spark that comes from the spontaneity and flexibility that comes from a little disorganization. I'd rather spend my time living my life than organizing it.

If you like pretty pictures

Check out Google's new archive of photographs from LIFE magazine. Pretty incredible stuff.

Also...

I am also very, very thankful that they finally caught Bri's killer. I am thankful for all of the people who put in thousands of hours of work, both the police and volunteers, and am thankful for the technology that made it possible to match his DNA. More than anything, I am thankful for the friend of his girlfriend who was suspicious enough to call in the tip to the police. I honestly cannot believe that they were able to find the man who terrorized our town within a year and before he struck again. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Time to Give Thanks

I am thankful:

For my wonderful friends, who I can always rely upon for anything.
For my amazing family, though I wish we could all live closer.
That both my husband and I have found a profession that we love, are good at, and can get paid to do.
For our good health and general happiness (seriously, quite, quite thankful).
That both of us have much more job security than most (kids will always need teachers, and we are in high-needs areas).
That our families are in good health.
That everyone in our lives is moving on a forward path towards what they really want.
For Nutella.
To have the opportunity to live in one of the best places in America.
Last, but certainly not least, my beloved husband, who is more than I could ever have asked for.

Chicago, Chicago

I thought I had no concept of Chicago. I thought it was merely a placeholder on the flat face of the Midwest; a blank metropolis in the middle of the generic "American-ness" that is the supposed heartland of this nation. It held no allure for me; I did not feel the tug of curiosity that impels the traveler to fill in the details of place along with name.

Or so I thought.

Even upon landing in the dark of winter evening, as the low houses flashed past the windows of the taxi, even then I could feel the city's essence. Hard working neighborhoods, staunchly neat and unpretentious, neither city nor suburb, gave way to huge, hulking shadows of scattered high rises looming over unseen streets.

Unbidden, fully-formed myths of Chicago sprung to my mind from the depths where they had been fed for years by poetry, songs, and stories I didn't remember digesting. In the pizza shop, I saw a tall man in an impeccable coat whose immense breadth immediately called to mind Sandburg's "City of the Big Shoulders":

HOG Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders

A small detail on a bridge reminded me that this was the home of the Prairie school of architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright and that gorgeous aesthetic I had loved in so many other places. And yet it seemed to be so at home here, in a way that I had not felt seeing the style elsewhere.

Everywhere, details sang out to me that this, this place I had never given a second thought was the home of poets, architects, writers who have inspired me and fed my artistic soul for years.

Chicago

HOG Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders:

They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I
have seen your painted women under the gas lamps
luring the farm boys.
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it
is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to
kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the
faces of women and children I have seen the marks
of wanton hunger.
And having answered so I turn once more to those who
sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer
and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing
so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on
job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the
little soft cities;

Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning
as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with
white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young
man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has
never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse.
and under his ribs the heart of the people,
Laughing!
Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of
Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog
Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with
Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.

Carl Sandburg

Great minds!

Filler time

I have several drafts started for posts talking about this amazing election, but I also have a paper due tomorrow and have written exactly one paragraph. So I decided to post this adorable video of a little girl singing the CU fight song. They played it at a game recently on the jumbotron and it was pretty awesome to hear the whole stadium singing with her. She has a great future as a cheerleader (in the original sense of the word).

Trying to process it all

I started this post last week, and I've decided I just need to post it:

I have started a couple posts about my reaction to the election this week, but I find I can hardly put it into words yet.

I still feel as though I am in a dream and am operating in some kind of alternate reality. Did this really happen? Am I just imagining all of this?

I really felt as though the very foundation of my world had shifted on Tuesday night. No longer did the old paradigm hold.

It feels like a movie; I now realize I had this same disconnection from a sense of reality when watching the attacks on 9/11. I simply could not believe it was happening, in the realest sense of the phrase. However, that felt like some awful disaster movie. This feels like the best feel-good, hopeful movie ever. And more indie or based-on-a-true-story than the cheesy, unbelievable Disney movie Palin would have been.

I mean, being raised as a die-hard Democrat over the past twenty years, I truly have no idea what it is like as a conscious adult to agree with the people in government, let alone have helped elect them. I keep wondering if Republicans felt this way when Bush won, either time. Was there rejoicing in the streets? Did they celebrate then end of the "reign of terror" of Democrats? Or maybe in retrospect, one can see that extramarital affairs just are quite on the same level as destroying the world economy, shredding the Bill of Rights, entangling us in an extended war in an area of the world that already hated us, etc. etc.

To sum up my feelings about the last time we got a new president, please read this frighteningly accurate article from the Onion from Bush the Second's inauguration:

Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'

You can safely say that my feelings

Another first

Also...

This is the first time I've voted for a WINNING presidential candidate.

I am SO hopeful!!!!

A Day of Firsts

This is the first time I've really voted FOR a candidate, not just against one.

This is the first time I've understood what it means to run a positive campaign, not just a less-negative one.

This is the first time I've felt like a part of something bigger, something momentous, something historic.

This is the first time I feel hopeful, and the first time I understand what that feeling actually is.

This is the first time I've seen a politician actually act *presidential*.

This is the first time I have felt so, so proud to vote.

This is the first time I've felt like I've seen the potential future of this country and cried for joy.

The unseen eye

I had a weird experience today that is becoming more and more common. A girl I had never met before was waiting in the hallway with me to speak to a professor. She looked and me and said, "I think I've observed you in the clinic downstairs." Since undergraduates in the program need to have a certain number of observation hours (25 in all), and since they can watch our sessions in the clinic on the first floor, this is not unheard of.

The weirdest part of it all is realizing how very many people have likely watched me in sessions that may or may not have gone well, and knowing that they now have some impression of me as a clinician, as well as knowing that I might have shaped their view of the field in some way. Frightening, since I'm by now means an expert at what I am doing and and still learning so much every day.

Then again, maybe I'm not nearly as well known in reality as in my head, and perhaps it's only a few people who have observed me. Either way, it's nice to get to meet some of those people who you never even knew were behind that one-way mirror.

On having no time

I just have time for a quick note this morning before I set off on my typical twelve-hour day of meetings, clients and class.

I have been thinking a lot about the passage of time, how short life really is, and the way we spend our time. I think seeing my husband only for an early morning goodbye kiss when he leaves for work and a goodnight kiss when one of us comes home late at night while the other is still in bed might have something to do with it. On good days, we get to eat dinner together at 9 PM before we both retreat to our computers to finish our work for the night. I know this is a necessary time in our lives to get to where we want to be, but I don't love it.

Is my time best spent in endless meetings and three hour classes? What exactly is all this "work" I need to do everyday? What purpose is it all serving? Some of it is useful, either to me or to someone else, but some of it simply is not worth the time spent doing it. Not that I have a choice in the matter right now. And I will probably always have to do pointless work to some degree, but I hope I can do it more mindfully and balance out its utility and importance with the time I spend doing it.

It's a small, scary world.

You may have read about six-year-old Cole Puffinburger. He was kidnapped last week from his home in an awful, drug-related attack in Las Vegas. This all happened literally one street away from my brother-in-law's house and two streets from my mother- and father-in-law's house. As in, Google the street name (I found it on the Review-Journal's story) and their streets are in the same close-up screen. Add to this the fact that my mother-in-law teaches kindergarten and could have been Cole's teacher if he had lived on the other side of a street. And Cole's father was in the same graduating class from high school as Peter. These are, quite literally, the people my husband grew up with.

Thanks be to God, Yaweh, Gaia, Allah, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or whomever else you'd like to thank, Cole was found perfectly unharmed and is safe now. Sadly, I think he is in the minority for missing children. I seriously cannot believe that he is OK and that they found him so quickly (relatively speaking).

The most frightening part of this for me is that my in-laws want to leave. They already have a house in Michigan waiting for them. But the housing market in Vegas is so awful, they can't leave. They say it seems like everyone on their street is just waiting for their chance to put their house on the market. What if they can't leave in time? What if the neighborhood just keeps deteriorating and there is no option to leave? This scenario has played out in many other cities hundreds of times through history, no doubt, but that never makes it less frightening for those living it.

Do five people read this? Here's hoping!