Notes from the Past (From the now defunct Yahoo 360)

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!!

Does any know why we don't get the day off of work or out of school for Valentine's Day? Wouldn't you think that a day made especially for celebrating love would be worthy of time off? A day spent kissing and hugging, giving foot rubs or back rubs, laughing, sharing dreams....doesn't that deserve special attention? I think that a holiday such as this would make the world a much better place! How do we make this happen???

Okay, I've finished venting now. I promise. I only brought up the whole Valentine's topic to draw attention away from the fact that it's been embarrassingly long since I've written anything in this blog. I hope it worked! ;-)

Let's see...I missed summer, school starting for the kids, starting a new job and leaving one that was near and dear to my heart, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, my husband's new job, broken bones, work events, my birthday, my husband's birthday and my oldest daughter's birthday. It looks like I have some catching up to do! :-)

Summer was nice, as summers in Summit County always are. We did a lot of biking, a lot of hiking, a lot of hanging out in the back yard. One of our favorite things to do, as a family, is to lie out on the trampoline at night (covered up with blankets, since even summer nights in the mountains are cool), and watching celestial goings-on. We make wishes on falling stars and follow the progress of airplanes as they cross the sky. Our 5-year old is great at finding those satellites that go by, now with more frequency than airplanes. I seem to recall seeing maybe one or two of those a night when I was younger (okay, much younger), but the last time we were watching them, we found about 10 in a 15-minute period of time. How many of those things are up there now??? I wonder if eventually, satellites will outnumber the stars....

School started fast and furiously, and there has been no rest for the kids since. Austin is in high school, where the intensity of his honors classes has increased dramatically. He is still doing well, and has found that he loves theatre. He was in a community production in the Fall of "Cannibal, the Musical," which was hilarious! He's in the school play, right now, called, "Once Upon a Mattress." I'm not sure when it opens, but he certainly stays busy with rehearsals. He also participated in speech and debate and did very well for his first year. In fact, I'm looking at a trophy he won at this very moment, that's resting up on the fireplace mantle.

Kaylie is still busy with dance, but has some challenges with a couple of her 8th grade teachers this year. I love Summit County, but we have found, in our experience, that there are teachers in the school district that SHOULD NOT be teaching. This year, it's Kaylie's math teacher, along with a couple of others. I've seen this "math" teacher (I use that term VERY loosely) take students who were interested in math and who were making A's in all their previous school years, and turn them into F students, who struggle just to understand what in the world this teacher is talking about. It's a very frustrating experience, to watch your child go from doing well and enjoying the experience of learning, to failing and HATING school. There is something desperately wrong with this scenario.

In his school, Max is doing fine, as always. And, Andy is starting to get excited about beginning kindergarten this coming up Fall. He continues to challenge us with his extreme energy levels - he, quite literally, makes my head spin on some days!

Shortly after school started for the kids, I was hired to do events and communications for the Town of Breckenridge. I spent September doing both jobs - finishing up at the college, and training for the new position. October 2nd, I started with the Town full time, and I mean, FULL TIME. Gone were the relaxing days of working 5-6 hours at the college, and having a 3 or 4-day weekend to hang with my family, as a program director for the college. Working for the Town of Breck has been busy, intense, and often crazy. For one, I'm in a type of position that I've never done before, heavy on the administrative stuff, which means that I'm dealing with a lot of details. As a manager or director, I'm used to looking more at the "big picture." But, this job has millions of little details that are necessary in order to ensure the success of an event. This is definitely a good learning experience for me - an opportunity to grow, personally, although it's sometimes a bit of a love/hate relationship. I try to keep the learning opportunity part in mind on the days I'm pulling my hair out, trying to get things finished up. I do have a couple of great co-workers - Kim and Vanessa. They make those crazy days more bearable, and even manageable. My first event was a haunted house, which was fun, especially since I was able to involve my kids. They had a blast helping to "scare" people as they came through the haunted house. And, we just finished up hosting the "International Snow Sculpture Championships," which is one of our largest events. It was incredibly busy and intense (16-hour days, 7 days a week), but was a great experience, overall. And, the more time that passes...well, the better memory it's becoming. The artist, or snow sculptors, were amazing individuals who came together as teams to make these breath-taking creations! And, watching them work was a priviledge! In case you're interested, you can see this year's sculptures at www.gobreck.com, click on events and then Int'l Snow Sculpture Championships. And, if you ever have the opportunity, you should come and check them out in person some day!

As for the holidays - they were wonderful, for the most part. Halloween was cold and snowy - very typical for Summit County. It does make it easier for the little ones to stay warm, since they can dress up in those cute fuzzy costumes. Thanksgiving was SO MUCH FUN!!! We had a houseful of people, which was chaotic, fun and downright joyful!!! Brittany and Adam drove up from Denver, and Ian, a friend from Alex's paper came over from Vail to join in the fun. We cooked, laughed, listened to music, ate, played board games and watched the Broncos lose their game. It was one of those days for which I am truly thankful.....

Christmas started out as a bit more of a challenge - Austin had a friend that flew in on Christmas Day, that had to be picked up at the airport in Denver (an hour and a half away), which meant that we couldn't really "start" Christmas until everyone arrived. It was hardest on Andy, as you can imagine. Having a 5-year old wait to come downstairs to open up presents for several hours was a struggle - he did it, though, bless his heart. And, Britty, Adam, Austin, Kaylie (both of whom stayed with Britt on Christmas eve) and Zack (from Minnesota) all arrived, and Christmas "began!" The rest of the morning was fun, and then Austin and Zack left to go skiing for a couple of hours. Around 3 p.m., Austin called - he fell while going down a traverse a little (meaning a LOT) too fast, hit a hip which flipped him over. He landed on his neck and shoulder and broke his collarbone (we're just relieved it wasn't something worse - it happens all the time out here, especially among young males). The rest of Christmas day was spent in the clinic, with about 50 other injured skiers (mostly tourists - which increased the level of humiliation Austin was experiencing). After all, fallen "gapers," are fodder for jokes among teenage boys that live in the County, and here he was, having to be hauled down the mountainside, just like a gaper. (For those curious, the definition of gaper: tourist who does stupid stuff like stops in the middle of a busy street, with his mouth open, to take a picture of a mountain or a tourist who will walk across a busy street without a glance, care or concern for traffic - happens all the time up here.)

It was probably a really good experience for him, when all is said and done. He's all better now, and has been back out on the hill, after waiting all of abut 2 weeks for his shoulder to heal. Crazy kid!
New Year's Eve was great - we had a few friends over for dinner, and drove over to Breck to watch the fireworks. Pretty calm, all in all. And, then the first week of the new year, Alex started a new job, as the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine group owned by Colorado Mountain Media, the same company who owns the newspaper where he was working before. It's been an experience filled with challenges and new opportunities.

Well, that pretty much covers the highlights and summary of our life since last June - nothing too dramatic or crazy. The bottom line, I guess, is that life is good. :-) We are very lucky!!
Until later.....sweet dreams!
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Wednesday February 14, 2007 - 07:36pm (MST)
Entry for June 28, 2006

Hey, World! I know, I know, it's been way too long since I stopped by....My only excuse is that, as usual, family life has just been crazy! We did make it through the end of the school year, thank goodness! Our mornings are much quieter and more peaceful now. Not everyone is rushing around to get ready to go somewhere.

Kaylie's dance recital and performances went beautifully - I was so proud of her! It's a truly incredible experience watching my shy and quiet little girl grow into a pretty and talented young lady - bold enough to get up on a stage in front of lots of people, and twirl and leap and spin, and look graceful doing it.... I'm getting all teary-eyed, just thinking about it.

And, Austin performed wonderfully at his piano recital. He also graduated from 8th grade, and received some kind of presidential award & recognition for his grades (yes, he's brilliant!) in his honors classes. I still can't believe my first baby boy is getting ready to start high school. It just doesn't seem possible... Andy went through his preschool class' graduation ceremony, although he will still be attending next year. His late summer birthday made him the very youngest in his class, and like big brother Austin, we believe that having him wait to start kindergarten for another year will make school a better place for him. It certainly worked for Austin, who just breezes through all things academic, and does just as well socially and emotionally, too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed with Andy.....right now, he's still our little wild man, unable to sit still and in one place for more than 5 minutes at a time. His boundless energy can definitely be a challenge.

A week after school got out, the older kids all went to summer camp for a week - that was really hard for me, since I've never really been away from them for more than a couple of days at a time. Andy was still around, but it gave Alex and me an idea of what it will be like when all of the big kids grow up and move out and it's just the 3 of us left at home. It will be very different....although, I think Andy really enjoyed having Daddy and me to himself for the week.

Alex is directing a play, called "The Foreigner," at the Backstage Theatre in Breck. Although theatre has long been a passion of his, it's much more difficult now to devote the time needed to successfully direct a production, with everything going on in our family. It gets crazy! I'm helping with the props, and Austin is handling the lighting for this show, so it has been a bit of a family effort. It opens tomorrow night, which means that our life will start to calm down a bit - thank goodness!

It's been harder to find the time to get out and enjoy our summertime hikes, biking and road trips with everything else going on. We did take one really good family hike, though, which was Alex's wish for Father's Day. The picture above was taken on the Meadow Creek Trail, on our way up to the beaver pond and Lilypad Lake, looking down at Frisco and Lake Dillon. It was a fantastic day for a hike!

I did get to go and see the movie about which I was so excited! As it turns out, "The Lake House" is now in my top 5 favorite movies of all time! I really do love any kind of time-travel kind of thing, be it book, movie, TV show or conversation. I have no idea why, but I always have. And, this movie was no exception - I absolutely loved it! I also loved the fact that I was watching a great love story, filmed with 2 of my favorite actors that are both my age (okay, I'm a few months older than both of them, but let's not talk about that) and not 20-somethings that I don't care about. I am a little embarrassed to say that I've now seen it 5 times, but I would go, again....in a heartbeat! This movie has now tied with my previous record of 5 times to see the first Pirates of the Caribbean...and now the second one is coming out next week!! I'd better start saving my popcorn money! :-)

The weather has been just perfect here this summer. We've been getting some of our late afternoon rain showers - very common in the mountains - which keeps everything green and pretty. It also keeps Austin busy mowing all of our neighbors' yards, which enabled him to buy his own laptop this summer. He's quite the entrepreneur! Our temperatures have been in the 50's, 60's and low 70's, which is wonderful! I watch the weather news sometimes and see how hot it is in so many other places and it makes me so happy to live where we do. I am so NOT a hot weather person!

Do you guys remember what it was like to be a kid in the summertime? The endless summer days spent playing outside, heedless of such things as sunscreen and time? I remember reading a favorite book, curled underneath my favorite shade tree, for hours, interrupted only for trips to the kitchen for more lemonade or ice tea. And, during warm summer evenings, my sister and I would chase fireflies, catching them, and then letting them go, again, before their light died out from our overhandling. Then, we'd lay on a blanket and look at the sky, trying to pick out constellations and watch for falling stars. I look at my kids, and their busy lives, their endeavors to earn more money than what they get for their allowances, the endless activities with their friends, even the homework assignments that were given to them to be completed over the summer by their teachers, and it makes me feel so sad. Though I try to limit their formal activities in the summer, they don't really take the time to relax. I just think of these busy children, who may grow up to be stressed out adults and wonder...what can I do to slow their lives down somewhat? And, if I can figure this part out, then how do I teach them to enjoy the simple pleasures? Right now, the moment their lives begin to calm down, they frantically start trying to line up new things to do. How do I help them get off the "merry-go-round" long enough to take a breath? Andy, our 4-year old, has the right idea....he'll go out in the yard, flop down on the grass on his tummy and just watch a little ant village go about its daily tasks. Or, on a walk, he will stop and sniff every flower that we pass, just to see what it's like, or investigate every single rock laying in our path. We should all give this a try, sometime - I know I'm learning more by watching Andy with his little discoveries than I could ever learn by a day spent at the office.

Well, it's time for me to get our little guy ready for bed now, so I'll be signing off. Hope you all are enjoying life during this beautiful summer (or winter, for my friends down under)! Just don't forget to stop and take a breath, every once in a while..... Good night!
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Wednesday June 28, 2006 - 10:03pm (MDT)
Entry for May 19, 2006

It looks like it's going to be yet another crazy weekend, filled with dance rehearsals and recitals, piano recital, overnight hike for class field trip, play rehearsal and the town clean-up day, so I thought I would jot down a few lines while I had a moment.

We had a great sunset earlier this week - I thought you might enjoy it....


Do other towns have a clean-up day, where they all get together for breakfast and "assignments" and then go off to their little assigned territory to pick up trash? Summit County was my first experience with an event, such as this. It seems like a great way to get the community members out and actually engaged in caring for the little town in which we live. And, after several hours of picking up trash, everyone meets back at the park for a picnic lunch. You can also compete in the "weird trash" contest, since some of the very strangest items can turn up after being buried in the snow for 9 months - some identifiable, some not.

This weekend also marks the end of dance lessons and piano lessons for the season, and the start of a nice reprieve from always having to chauffeur somebody somewhere. Summer can be quite relaxing without these extra demands. I just wonder how long it will be before the choruses of "I'm bored" and "there's nothing to do" start to ring out in our home.....

Austin has an overnight field trip going on right now - they were doing some rock climbing today, and will be hiking all night long. Doesn't that sound fun? When I think back to my field trips in Jr. High (or middle school, as it's called these days), I remember trips to the local library, or going to see a play at the nearby college. We never did anything quite so cool as an all-night hike or mountain climbing (not that Missouri really has any mountains)....although I did go to the lake with a group of friends for senior skip day, in high school.

Have a wonderful and beautiful weekend, world! I'll be back, soon!
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Friday May 19, 2006 - 10:28pm (MDT)
Entry for May 16, 2006

Okay, I just finished watching the season finale of Grey's Anatomy for the second time, and again, it took me awhile to make the tears stop. The writers killed off my favorite character - Denny, a heart-transplant patient, who had just proposed to Izzie. I know, I know, it's just a silly TV show - my husband keeps telling me that. But, honestly, this show feels different - like these people could be friends or something (the sign of really good writers who are brave enough to deviate from boring, formulaic storylines). I am so bummed, though - I don't know if I'll be able to watch it next season, with Denny gone. This is going to take awhile to get over....

Our weather has been simply wonderful here this past week! On Friday, I happened to have the day off from work so I took a nice, long bike ride all over our little town here - it's such a great place to live. It's like one of those places that you hear about, where you see people you know at the post office, the coffee shop and the grocery store. It's especially nice right now, before all the visitors come back for the summer - there's no line anywhere! :-)

Saturday for us was one of those insane days, where cloning would come in handy. Max had his last soccer game of the season down in Denver, while Andy had to be at another event here in Frisco. Alex and I were able to "divide and conquer!" He took Maxie down to his game, while I volunteered to help with Andy's event, which was a fundraiser "Barn Dance" at our local community center for his preschool. It was so much fun! Andy and all of his little friends got up on stage and sang several cute little songs, all decked out in their little cowboy stuff. I've included a picture of him in action above! :-) After the barn dance, Kaylie, Andy and I happened by a community garage sale, where I found a couch in surprisingly great shape that would work perfectly in Brittany's new apartment. So, we got it loaded up in the van and took a drive down to Denver to deliver this couch. It took every ounce of our "girl power" for Britt, Kaylie and me to get that heavy couch up all the stairs to her apartment. I was kicking myself for ever driving down the street that had the garage sale in the first place. But, when we finally got it all situated in her place, she was so excited!! It made me remember how very excited I was when my sister, my friend, Barbie, and I were moving into our very first apartment. It was completely furnished with milk crates that we had swiped from local grocery stores and a couple of lawn chairs that we bought on clearance at Montgomery Ward, where Barbie and I could use our employee discount. And, we were so proud of it!

On Mother's Day, Alex started our morning off with my favorite breakfast - Eggs Benedict! He's so great! After that, I got to open up my gifts, which was wonderful! Our boys had planned a "treasure hunt" for me to find my gift from them. They hid clues all over the house, and I had to try and solve the riddles in order to find the next clue. It was such a cute idea and it made the whole process so much fun! We then took a short bike ride down around the marina, and walked around the lake, skipping rocks and watching the sail boats come in, before the rain started that afternoon. (Don't you just love the smell of rain???) We spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing, which made it a perfect Mother's Day. The only negative part of the day was that I didn't get to see my mom, since she lives so far away, although I enjoyed a nice phone conversation with her. I really miss seeing her....

I hope all of you moms out there enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day! Have a great week!!
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Wednesday May 17, 2006 - 12:26am (MDT)
Entry for May 06, 2006

Hey, world! I just realized that I forgot to put pen to paper (or rather fingers to laptop keys) last week - oops! Hmmm, what did we do last weekend? Oh, yes, I helped my oldest daughter move into her new apartment. Although I'm a little apprehensive with the whole idea of her moving in with her boyfriend, I truly want her to be happy and independent. She's tried this moving out thing several times, but it didn't take. Hopefully, it will work this time. Keep your fingers crossed....

Work at the college was really busy this week. Actually, my plan of only working part-time and then spending more time with our 4-year old at home fell through. I'm covering another job (through the end of June) for a colleague who accepted a different position. So, I'm busy this week scheduling credit classes for Fall, on top of taking care of all the non-credit stuff. Well, there's never a dull moment - that's for sure! I was also approached by someone, regarding another job opportunity, which will require some thought. Decent money, but a very "cozy" work environment, which isn't my favorite. I prefer to hide myself away in my own office, music of my choice playing in the background, and just focus on the task at hand. Money, too much togetherness, and not-so-exciting work? Or, broke, but in my wonderful "blue room" (yep, that's it above) doing a job I really like? Hmmmmm.... Advice and suggestions are SO welcomed!

For our date night this week, Alex and I went to see "American Dreamz," which was great! I do recommend it! And, although it was a satire, the plot really did sum up what is going on in our country, at this time. While we were at the theatre, we saw a trailer for "The Lake House," which I REALLY, REALLY want to see! The synopsis sounds so good! And, though it's probably corny, I love any kind of time-travel or other supernaturally (not horror) inspired stories. I'm counting the days until it comes out on June 16!

I just finished up watching "Tristan and Isolde" a few minutes ago, which was good, with a very sad ending . It was very "Romeo & Juliette" or "Kindom of Heaven" or "Helen of Troy" with all the fighting, wars, bloodshed, and dying lovers. Very formulaic, which is probably why I enjoy a bit of the supernatural in a story. Anything to make the usual plot a little more interesting....
I was talking with my mom, who lives in Missouri today, and she is very concerned about Zacarias Moussaoui going to a Colorado prison. I had to grab a map, check the distance, and try to reassure my Mom that Florence is 114 miles away from Frisco. Hmmm, that is a little close. Here's an idea....officials should take all prisoners and put them in one state....say, Texas. We could borrow China's idea of a great wall to put around the state, which would actually serve two purposes - it would keep all the prisons in one place so that we wouldn't have to worry about property values and escapees. It would also keep all of the pokey slow Texas drivers, in their supersized, gas-guzzling SUVs out of Colorado, so that I could get to work on time during tourist season. Yep, an idea whose time has come!

Back to Moussaoui, though, is anyone else as confused as I as to what that jury was thinking? By avoiding the death sentence, our American taxpayer dollars are going to have to feed, clothe and provide medical care for this murderous (albeit misguided) moron, while we have so many children in this country who have absolutely no health insurance, or even food, at all. It seriously (pardon my french) pisses me off!!

On to happier topics.....The kids are all doing wonderfully! Kaylie has managed to bring all of her grades up to an acceptable level, while Austin continues to shine in all of his classes. And, Andy is still as busy as ever, although he was bummed that he couldn't stay home with Mommy the extra days like he did the past couple of weeks. Mommy is a little bummed about that, as well. We keep talking about staying home all the time, when Daddy sells his novel. Yes, my Alex wrote a novel! He spent several years on it, with the revisions, etc. So, not only can he cook, he is absolutely brilliant! :-) I've spoken with people who have talked about writing a novel, but he's the only person I know who actually did it! He is also planning on turning his weekly column, called Mountain Family (that he writes for the Vail Daily), into a book, as well. They are my favorites of all of his writing!

Any exciting plans for the weekend? We are heading down to Denver to watch Max's soccer game and to visit Brittany in her new place to see how she's getting settled. And, Sunday, Austin and I are reinstalling the operating system on his computer. What fun! (I know - I'm such a geek.) And, we'll probably finish up our weekend with a hike or a bike ride and then a dose of "Grey's Anatomy!" Don't you just love weekends????

I hope all of you have a wonderful and relaxing couple of days!! Get outside and enjoy the spring!
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Entry for April 24, 2006

Howdy! It's good to be back in the office today! After a busy, hectic weekend, it's almost a relief to be able to sit at my desk, listen to my music and get some work done.

On Tuesday evening, Alex and I went to see this play down in Denver, which I found to be truly dreadful. It was depressing and just downright irrelevent to life. He wasn't crazy about it, either, but was able to shrug it off more easily. The crazy thing is that the reviews in the Denver papers all claimed it to be "brilliant and edgy," and "ahead of its time." Do you ever wonder if critics just say that stuff because they are afraid that they'll look less than intelligent if they blurt out the truth, and say that "it's a horrible waste of time," and "don't bother"? Or, is it me, finding that, as I continue to age (despite my best efforts), I am more critical and less tolerant of wasting my time with foolish endeavors that add nothing to my life? Hmmmmmm..... That's not to say that all modern dramatic theatre is bad (I say dramatic, specifically, because I never met a musical that I didn't like!). In fact, we saw a show last week at the Denver Center, called "The Clean House," that made me cry. It was written by a 32-year old woman who seemed to know what she was talking about. I was really impressed at the depth of the story. My husband seemed a little less so - maybe it was the theatrical equivalent of a "chick flick."

On Thursday, I had my first full day as a "part-time stay-at-home mom" with our energetic and high-maintenance 4-year old. I did the at-home mom thing for 2 of our older children all the way up until they started kindergarten, and in comparison, 2 kids were MUCH easier than one. They had each other to play with, or fight with, and all I really had to do was fix some lunch or referee a wrestling match. With Andy, I am THE playmate, his sole entertainment for the day. I start out with the best intentions...a plan to practice writing his ABC's, a little reading, and some algebra and trig thrown in for good measure. But, after an hour or two of trying to get him to sit still, quit throwing his storybooks or shoving crayons up his nose, I end up caving and letting him play 15 minutes of the playstation, or watching the Wiggles on TV. Sigh..... After a quick lunch, we then set out for the park, since the weather was beautiful. Walking there was really nice, since most of the snow is gone and there are plenty of patches of green grass. And, the park is getting over the very muddy stage, where it's nothing but a brown pool of soggy mess that clings to little kids and their clothes. Surprisingly, we had the park to ourselves, which is good since then I felt free to climb and swing along with him, and not act like the "dignified" mommy that I'm supposed to be. We played for several hours, threw some rocks in the river that runs right beside the park and then started for home. The trip home is always much harder because, 9 times out of 10, I end up carrying him back home because he used up all of his energy playing. It's a really good workout, so I shouldn't complain. It was a nice day, all in all - I find that I'm relieved that I'm not too old for all of this play stuff, yet. And, honestly, I would rather spend my time making my little guy laugh and have fun than sitting at some goofy stage production, trying to make sense where there is none.

On Friday, the whole family had a mini-vacation. Alex was asked to review this really nice hotel down in Denver, which means that they took good care of all 7 of us for a night. It was wonderful!! (Marriott, at Cherry Creek, in case you're interested) And, after a very nice breakfast there, we had tickets to go to a local amusement park - one of the "Six Flags" conglomeration. It was their opening day, so it wasn't that busy, which means that the lines were actually very short (a far cry from our experience with a Six Flags in California, where every line was a couple of hours long. After 2 rides, we went home!). Everyone had a great time there - even Andy who is reaching a height where he can ride the, kind of, 2nd tier rides - the ones that are a step up from the baby rides (that's him and a cute little stranger on the kiddie roller coaster above). I find that I still love a good "spinny ride," while my husband and the rest of the big kids truly appreciate a fast & scary roller coaster. It was a very fun day!
I also found out that my oldest daughter (21) is MOVING IN with her boyfriend of several months!!!! I'm still in shock over that. He seems like a nice guy, but still....21 seems so young for that kind of thing. I am not one to talk, though, at all - I was married by 20 and had her by my 21st birthday, which now, I can say that I was DEFINITELY too young. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed on this, for sure, and will just hope for a positive outcome.
Well, I hope everyone has a fantastic week ahead!! Smile!!
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Monday April 24, 2006 - 03:47pm (MDT)
Entry for April 18, 2006
Well, the snow just keeps coming here in Summit County! After being cruelly teased by the warmth of spring, green grass showing up in places and a decrease of snow in many spots on the ground, winter seems to have returned with a vengence! I drove the 9 miles to work, from Frisco to Breckenridge, in near white-out conditions, watching as cars in front of me vanished in the swirling oblivion, only to reappear, again, with their brake lights signalling a complete stop for some reason or the other. That kind of driving makes a body nervous...The one saving grace is my Christmas music playing on my stereo....I'll use any excuse I can to listen to that stuff! :-)
Have a wonderful day, friends!
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Tuesday April 18, 2006 - 09:55am (MDT)
Entry for April 17, 2006

Hi, all! Just thought I'd put down a quick entry since I have a few free minutes. It's one of my favorite times of the night, when the rest of my family is all tucked in and on their way to dreamland, and being the night person that I am, I have a couple of hours all to myself. I'm sure any of you with kids know exactly what I'm talking about. My problem is trying to decide what I want to do with this bonus time - do I want to surf the internet, looking up random information or future travel destinations? Do I want to watch a favorite movie on TV? Do I want to throw in a load of laundry and straighten up the kitchen? (That option rarely wins in this decision-making process.) Do I want to do my workout? Or, take a walk through our neighborhood and look at the stars? Do I want to read a book? Or, email my friends? Or, update my blog??? As you may have guessed - that's the winning choice for tonight. So, here I am, although this may be just a quickie....It's a fantastically windy and warm evening (well, for Summit County, anyway), and I know that we have more snow coming our way tomorrow.... :-) I'm itching to get outside for a bit - windy nights are my very favorite!

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! We all dyed Easter eggs - a favorite activity for the whole family! Now, we're trying to decide how to use up the 2 dozen eggs that we prepared for the occasion. If anyone has an interesting recipe for boiled eggs out there, please send it my way! Egg salad is starting to get a little boring, already.

While our kids and I attended church, my wonderful husband made us this amazing brunch, and my favorite breakfast of all time - eggs benedict! He is an awesome cook, which is good, since I get overwhelmed just boiling water. (I seem to have a very short attention span when it comes to cooking, and forget crucial ingredients, or else I torch it to the point to where it's completely inedible. I just get bored standing there. But, I'm great when it comes to cleaning up!) And, for dinner, Alex made the traditional Easter ham, some fancy scalloped potatoes, broccoli, rolls - the works! I love sitting at the counter, sipping my wine, and watching him in action - I find it fascinating that he can do all of this and have everything come together and be ready to eat all at the same time.

I also had a visit from Grayson L. (that's him in the picture above, with my oldest daughter, Brittany), another one of my best friends! (Visits from friends - 2 weeks in a row!!!) This poor guy has helped me load and unload more moving trucks than anyone else in this world, especially when I was in my "gypsy mode," moving to a new house or town every year or year and a half. He helped encourage and support me during a painful divorce, when I was discovering the challenges of being a single mom with 3 babies - a very tough situation! And, then, Grayson was the person walked me down the aisle and handed me off to my husband, Alex, during our wedding. He's an incredible friend and I'm very lucky to have him in my life. A sidenote - for anyone interested - he is single! ;-)

Sorry this is so short, but the night is calling and that's far more interesting that anything else I could be putting down on paper (or, online) right now. So, world, have a wonderful evening! And, may your tomorrow bring lots of laughter!
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Tuesday April 18, 2006 - 12:07am (MDT)
Entry for April 07, 2006

Well, despite all of my best intentions, keeping an up-to-date blog sort of fell by the wayside. My apologies to anyone who may have been interested. Life is finally slowing down enough to start getting caught up on some of the basics, like hanging out with my family, sleeping, cleaning, playing, laughing......

Because of some bizarre, middle-aged restlessness, I took a bit of a hiatus from my job at the college to work full-time night shifts at the hospital in the town where I live. I thought it would be a job where I would be, if not healing people directly, at least helping them to feel better while admitting them into the emergency room with various ailments and maladies. Many times, that was the case. But, other nights were spent watching family members come in to look for their loved ones who had been killed in car accidents; or distraught parents of kids who were brought in after trying to take their own lives; or other heart-wrenching tragedies that would unfold night after night. Even though I knew very few of these people personally, it was extremely difficult for me to detach from their situations. So many mornings I would get home from work, and would be helpless to stop my tears over the losses and hardships of these complete strangers. My overwhelming sadness was beginning to affect my family. This, coupled with the lack of sleep (although, I'm very much a night person, I never completely adjusted to having to get some sleep during the day), missed bedtime stories for our 4-year old and missed family ski days and activities, I had to quit. And, to think I was seriously considering going back to school for radiology. It was a good learning experience, however. I learned how important my husband and my children are to me. I found out that I have limits on the amount of pain and sadness that I can allow in my life. I also found that I have a limited amount of patience for the type of people who would come in whining about really stupid stuff, usually the same ones that flashed their Medicaid card in front of my face - a sure sign of how much the health care system in the US is being abused. I'm just really relieved that this experience is over. I do want to note the amount of respect that I gained for ANYONE in the medical field, who stays with it. I saw amazing doctors, nurses, techs, admissions staff, and so many other people who were wonderful, in scary and critical situations. God bless them all!

So, since I last wrote, we have celebrated birthdays of most of my immediate family members, myself included. My oldest daughter turned 21 in January, followed by both me and my husband reaching 42 (all three birthdays right in a row). We also celebrated yet another wedding anniversary - go us! Then, in March, my other daughter turned 13, and celebrated with her best friend, at a spa, getting a make-over, pedicure, and manicure - such a grown-up thing to do. And, 2 weeks after that, one of our sons turned 12. I feel like all of these special events passed while I was in a bit of a fog from my job. Again, a big sigh of relief that it's over.

Alex and I took Andy (the 4-yr old) and Kaylie (the 13-yr old) to see the new "Ice Age" movie. I highly recommend it! It made my night to hear giggles coming from every family member in attendance! Our 14-yr old son went to see "V for Vendetta" for the 3rd time - he really likes that movie. I thought it was good, as well, but I can wait for the video to come out to see it, again. We have now started counting down the days until the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie comes out - it's a family favorite!

My husband and I recently went to see "Mamma Mia" down in Denver a couple of weeks ago - IT WAS WONDERFUL!!! I first saw it in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay a couple of years ago - compliments of my father-in-law - and went crazy over it. I've been harrassing Alex to go and see it ever since. Don't expect a life-altering experience.... it is such a goofy show, but it is so much fun!!!

Today, I had the wonderful pleasure of seeing one of my favorite people with whom I worked at Pepperdine University. She and her husband drove up from Denver to ski for a day. We had a nice dinner and wonderful conversation with them this evening! It made me realize how much I miss having really close friends, like Kathy, around. Have you ever noticed how much more difficult it gets to make GOOD friends as you get older? Not just acquaintances, but FRIENDS. Family becomes the number one priority to most people, and rightfully so. But, I would love it if I could talk Kathy, or Nina, or Julie (a couple of my other favorite people in the world) into moving out here near me. Oh, the fun we would have!

Our snow seems to be on its way out. Finally. Each day, the pile of snow in our yard gets smaller and smaller, revealing secrets that have been kept since October. Today, while walking around our yard, I found my 4-yr old's ski mask, a blue sled, an end table that goes with our patio set, and a snowman holding a sign that said "Let it snow!" put up in the yard sometime before Thanksgiving. That little snowman worked his magic this year - we had near record amounts! But, I look forward to smelling a freshly mowed yard, throwing the baseball with my kids, riding bikes with the entire family, and visiting with our neighbors and friends on Wednesday evenings at our local Farmer's Market. Can't wait!

Well, to all of you in cyberworld, I wish you the very best of dreams on this lovely night! Hug your children!
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Saturday April 8, 2006 - 02:15am (MDT)
December 22, 2005

Last night, Alex and I set out on a culinary adventure. We had the opportunity to visit this restaurant in Beaver Creek called "Beanos," in order to review them for a freelance job, as well as for a story at the Vail Daily, where he is the Asst. Managing Editor. To reach this place, we had to hop on this sleigh that was pulled by a Snowcat (the machines that groom ski slopes), and ride it all the way up to the very top of the mountain. Although it was freezing cold - both from the wind and the spray of the snow - it was a gorgeous night! There were millions more stars out than usual, since we were farther away from the lights from town. Alex and I got to snuggle up under a blanket, which made it downright romantic - a bonus for us, as a couple, with all of our kids around. It was great! Just outside the lodge, there were live porcupines huddled together in the cold - a very interesting yard decoration. Dinner, itself, was in this really nice building that looked like a typical Colorado lodge - chandeliers made from antlers, fireplace burning brightly, log furniture and lots of windows. This place was the kind of restaurant that doesn't display the prices on the menu, which (my theory) is to avoid heart attacks among the patrons. In addition to a kind of soup that I didn't like, and a nice salad, Alex had this duck appetizer that was exquisite, while I had sea scallops with foie gras. We then moved on to our main course which was pheasant for me; lamb for Alex. We ended with a wonderful creme brule (my favorite dessert in the whole wide world) and some kind of cheesecake in this goopy red sauce, that we took home to the kids. All of this was accompanied by a very nice wine and a bill that would have cost us $296 sans tip! (Ahhhh, the benefits of being married to a newspaper man!) The surprising thing was that this place was hopping! Every table was filled at all times, with large families and group parties. If we'd taken the kids, and it wasn't a work event, we would have had to take out a loan to pay for the meal. I just can't imagine having that much "spare" money lying around - especially here at Christmas time. But, it's nice to get a glimpse at how the "other people" live.

Today, I had the pleasure of joining my 4-year old son, Andy, at his preschool sledding party. Simply stated, it was exhausting! Keeping up with 12 4-year olds in snow that came up to my hips was no small task! Sledding was difficult, so Miss Amanda, Miss Dawn (both teachers), Greg (Millie's Dad) and I tried to stomp down the snow so the kids could slide instead of just sinking into the powder and disappearing from sight. It was a great workout, but very tiring. Most of the kids enjoyed sledding for the duration, while others resorted to such endeavors as diving face first into the snow from rocks, making snow angels, or building a snowman. It was a great way to spend the morning!

Afterward, I had to head to work over at the college for several hours before starting our holiday vacation. Yea!! With no vacation time since I started at Colorado Mountain College in February, I am really looking forward to a little down time to spend with the kids and Alex, get in some good skiing, and perhaps enjoy a movie or two. The kids have been out of school all this week and have gotten a fair amount of sleep. Austin has been skiing several times, as well. The snow has been simply wonderful this year!

I finally finished all of the Christmas cards this week, and am almost finished with my shopping. Being the night person that I am, I'll start wrapping the presents after the kids all go to bed, to get a bit of a head start on that, and should be in good shape for Christmas. The dwindling amount of chocolate left in the kids' advent calendars signals that the time is very near. The excitement builds... anticipation grows. I just love Christmas with my family!
Good night, world!