RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING
1) Steve, Anthony and I went to a very lovely wedding yesterday! Steve's coworker Scott Smith married his lovely bride Stephanie (so many S's) in an outdoor ceremony in Florence. It was honestly one of the prettiest weddings I've seen in a long time. It was small, very simple, and frigging hot. I don't think I'll ever understand the allure of getting married outdoors in a southern summer, but hey...that's just how some people do, I guess. The wedding was held at one of those big houses that have been re-designed to hold events, and the reception was under a big white tent in the yard. I still didn't get to dance. :P It was just all just very lovely. I may get malaria from the mosquito bites, but at least I'll have contracted it from being at a nice wedding! :)
2) Speaking of weddings, I'm singing in one two weeks from now! It's also going to be outdoors. (WHY?!) The song I'm singing isn't new to me, since I've done it in at least two other weddings before, but I've got this fear I'm going to screw it up! I don't know why. I think I'm always a bit more stressed about singing at weddings than I am when I sing at church. Some brides, or bride's mothers (or hell, groom's mothers) will rip your face off if anything goes wrong at the wedding, even the music. Although I don't see the bride or her mother doing this to me, even if I get up and sing a completely wrong song, I still worry. I'm hoping that I don't mess up the words and that I don't pass out from the heat while I'm singing. Fingers crossed, people!
3) Oh, I just wanted to clear something up, since it wasn't clear to some of you... A couple of entries ago, I talked about a parade I went to while visiting Josh in Colorado. Just to make it clear, I knew what kind of parade I was going to, I promise. I just thought it would be funny to write it as if I didn't. Just FYI! Heehee.
4) Oh Denver, My Denver, I miss your weather. I miss being able to go into the mountains to get snowed on, and I miss needing a jacket after the sun goes down. I miss not being a sweaty mess the instant I walk outdoors and I miss the fact that I could exercise outdoors without wishing I was dead. I don't know if I'd like living in Denver full time, but I'd totally move there just for the lack of humidity.
5) Back to weddings for a second: Why do some grooms think it's funny to smash cake in a bride's face?! It isn't, at all. It didn't happen at the wedding we were at this weekend, but I was scared it would for a second. I mean, I'm sure there are some brides out there who think it's funny, but personally I think it is one of the jerkiest things a man can do on his wedding day! You don't spend hours on your face and hair, not to mention a stinking expensive, white dress, and want to have someone smash a pastry all over you. Of course, when it happens, usually you have a woman trying not to cry or look pissed while she's wiping icing out of her eyelashes, and that's just sad. Any man who'd do that deserves to be taken out behind the reception hall and beaten by the bride's closest male relatives. Yes, I feel strongly about it! :P
6) Our yard looks insane right now. I cut it a couple of weeks ago, when it was super dry outside, and I actually thought the grass was dead for a while. Our whole lawn was brown and looked scalped. With all the rain that's been going on for the past week or so, now it looks like a rain forest. Our lawn kind of always looks crazy, though, because our stupid weed eater sucks and we can't edge worth a poo. It runs on this hoss battery that only stays charged for about 5 minutes at a time, so even if you start trying to get around the edges of things, you can't possibly get it all done before the battery runs out. It's like our whole yard needs a bikini wax.
7) I had to get yet another new breathing machine. I'm about ready to give up on breathing at night and just take my chances. I had to have a periodic card scan by the medical supply place, which keeps up with usage to prove I'm using it so that insurance will continue paying for the machine. Apparently, I had been wearing it for less than an hour at a time before I pulled it off, which is not good enough for Blue Cross/Blue Shield. I don't blame them for that, but I wasn't pulling it off on purpose, so I had to call the doctor and explain the deal. Now I'm on the same kind of machine I was on in the first place for the next two weeks, only with the air ratcheted up another 4 notches, and I'm still pulling it off in my sleep! My personal opinion is that the air pressure is too high, which makes me feel like I'm smothering. I believe this, because the times I've woken up enough to be conscious of what I'm doing, all I have to do is hit the "ramp" button to turn the air down again and I can sleep fine. However, since I didn't go to medical school, my opinion is rather useless. I also think if I could have a mask that didn't make me feel like I was out hunting minocs, I'd sleep better. The thing is so awkward and I keep getting tangled in the hose. I hate it. Anyway, so we'll see how this works. I'd love to have all of that wonderful oxygen at night so that I can be energetic the next day, but at this point I don't think any of it is working. It is so very frustrating!
8) I wish I had more interesting stuff to talk about, but I've only been home for 5 days and nothing of note has happened. :)
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
BLOGGED ALONG THE WAY: ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH EDITION
June 21, 2011
OK, that was probably one of the worst experiences I've ever had at an airport. Well, nothing bad happened to me exactly, but I was so unorganized and everything got frustrating!
Josh dropped me off at the front (Bye, Josh) and I went in to find the right desk. Denver's airport is HUGE, and my airline had a whole section just for themselves! I initially went into the Online Check-In only line, so I had to finally ask someone where I was supposed to go. Luckily, they were able to point me in the right direction. I had no trouble with the actual check in, but when it came time to turn over my bag, the guy said it was 5 pounds overweight. Well, Josh had told me I might have to pay a fee for an overweight bag, so I asked if I could pay and they said it would be $100. Wow...that's just...wow. They also told me I could try and remove 5 pounds of stuff from my bag, so that's what I tried to do. I had to open my suitcase in front of all of these strangers and dig stuff out. The lady said a pair of shoes and maybe some jeans would probably be fine, so I took out my jeans, my jacket and my brown sneakers. It wasn't quite 5 pounds, but close enough. They allowed my bag through without a fee, but I was now loaded down with stuff and had no idea how I was going to get it on the plane with me.
That was the thing that threw me off, I think. I had to figure out where to keep all of this new stuff that I hadn't anticipated on carrying with me. I finally found a place to sit down and try to get organized. I could carry my jacket, I stuffed my jeans into my already full backpack - the resiliant Jans Sport that I carry everywhere - but I had no place to put the shoes! I tried stuffing them into my bag, but it wouldn't close. I carried them almost to the security line when I finally decided that I couldn't juggle everything I had and still be able to get onto the plane. I threw my shoes away. I didn't know what else to do! I was already in a state of panic trying to navigate a totally new place, making sure I still had my tickets handy, grabbing my ID so I could get through security and all of that...I just felt the shoes were colateral damage of my already hurried state. I felt bad about doing it though. Granted, they aren't shoes I wear very much, but they were not that old and still in really good shape. I wish I could have left them in a place where someone could have taken them if they wanted them, but I was afraid that the airport security would think I was planting shoe bombs around the place. Sigh. Into the garbage they went. :(
Amazingly, I made it through security with no problem and I struck out to find my gate. I was in B52 (easy enough to remember) but when I found it, it said the outgoing plane was going to Crested Butte! Arrrgh! I know I had read the board correctly, and my ticket said it was the right gate, but the plane wasn't going home! I tracked down a security guard and asked what I needed to do, and they said it was still the right plane...I was just really early. Phew.
By this point I was able to sit down and try to reorganize my backpack again. I also realized that one of the reasons I'd been freaking out was because I had forgotten to take my anti anxiety medication. If I'm going to fly, I need to take it. I had no idea my anxiety for flying would start way before I was even at the gate! So I bought some food I didn't really want and I took my pill. After a while, I started feeling much less stressed. In fact, I started feeling downright sleepy. Also, in fact, I kept nodding off while sitting at the gate. I roused myself enough to get on the plane, but immediately started dozing off again. Our plane couldn't take off on time because one of our flight attendants got sick and had to be replaced, but by the time we got into the air, I was going in and out of fuzzy consciousness. I was never fully asleep, but I wasn't really awake either. It was unpleasant.
When we finally landed, I was still in a drugged slump, so I was really glad Steve finally got there to help me! I mean, I was glad to see him in general, but the helping was nice too. We stopped and got dinner (I hadn't eaten much yet that day) and afterwards I crashed. It was only after I woke up and thought about it that I realized why I was so tired. The anti-anxiety pills make me sleepy sometimes, of course, but I had moved the ones I had in my purse into a packet where I keep Dramamine. One of my Dramamine had been smushed, and so the powder from it had gotten onto my other pill mixing the medication together. Nice.
Anyway, I was glad to be home, but I was genuinely sad to leave. Barring my airport misadventure, I had the best time in Denver with Josh and I hope I can go back soon! Yay!
June 21, 2011
OK, that was probably one of the worst experiences I've ever had at an airport. Well, nothing bad happened to me exactly, but I was so unorganized and everything got frustrating!
Josh dropped me off at the front (Bye, Josh) and I went in to find the right desk. Denver's airport is HUGE, and my airline had a whole section just for themselves! I initially went into the Online Check-In only line, so I had to finally ask someone where I was supposed to go. Luckily, they were able to point me in the right direction. I had no trouble with the actual check in, but when it came time to turn over my bag, the guy said it was 5 pounds overweight. Well, Josh had told me I might have to pay a fee for an overweight bag, so I asked if I could pay and they said it would be $100. Wow...that's just...wow. They also told me I could try and remove 5 pounds of stuff from my bag, so that's what I tried to do. I had to open my suitcase in front of all of these strangers and dig stuff out. The lady said a pair of shoes and maybe some jeans would probably be fine, so I took out my jeans, my jacket and my brown sneakers. It wasn't quite 5 pounds, but close enough. They allowed my bag through without a fee, but I was now loaded down with stuff and had no idea how I was going to get it on the plane with me.
That was the thing that threw me off, I think. I had to figure out where to keep all of this new stuff that I hadn't anticipated on carrying with me. I finally found a place to sit down and try to get organized. I could carry my jacket, I stuffed my jeans into my already full backpack - the resiliant Jans Sport that I carry everywhere - but I had no place to put the shoes! I tried stuffing them into my bag, but it wouldn't close. I carried them almost to the security line when I finally decided that I couldn't juggle everything I had and still be able to get onto the plane. I threw my shoes away. I didn't know what else to do! I was already in a state of panic trying to navigate a totally new place, making sure I still had my tickets handy, grabbing my ID so I could get through security and all of that...I just felt the shoes were colateral damage of my already hurried state. I felt bad about doing it though. Granted, they aren't shoes I wear very much, but they were not that old and still in really good shape. I wish I could have left them in a place where someone could have taken them if they wanted them, but I was afraid that the airport security would think I was planting shoe bombs around the place. Sigh. Into the garbage they went. :(
Amazingly, I made it through security with no problem and I struck out to find my gate. I was in B52 (easy enough to remember) but when I found it, it said the outgoing plane was going to Crested Butte! Arrrgh! I know I had read the board correctly, and my ticket said it was the right gate, but the plane wasn't going home! I tracked down a security guard and asked what I needed to do, and they said it was still the right plane...I was just really early. Phew.
By this point I was able to sit down and try to reorganize my backpack again. I also realized that one of the reasons I'd been freaking out was because I had forgotten to take my anti anxiety medication. If I'm going to fly, I need to take it. I had no idea my anxiety for flying would start way before I was even at the gate! So I bought some food I didn't really want and I took my pill. After a while, I started feeling much less stressed. In fact, I started feeling downright sleepy. Also, in fact, I kept nodding off while sitting at the gate. I roused myself enough to get on the plane, but immediately started dozing off again. Our plane couldn't take off on time because one of our flight attendants got sick and had to be replaced, but by the time we got into the air, I was going in and out of fuzzy consciousness. I was never fully asleep, but I wasn't really awake either. It was unpleasant.
When we finally landed, I was still in a drugged slump, so I was really glad Steve finally got there to help me! I mean, I was glad to see him in general, but the helping was nice too. We stopped and got dinner (I hadn't eaten much yet that day) and afterwards I crashed. It was only after I woke up and thought about it that I realized why I was so tired. The anti-anxiety pills make me sleepy sometimes, of course, but I had moved the ones I had in my purse into a packet where I keep Dramamine. One of my Dramamine had been smushed, and so the powder from it had gotten onto my other pill mixing the medication together. Nice.
Anyway, I was glad to be home, but I was genuinely sad to leave. Barring my airport misadventure, I had the best time in Denver with Josh and I hope I can go back soon! Yay!
BLOGGED ALONG THE WAY: ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH EDITION
June 20, 2011
Since Jeoff had to go back to Lamar last night (BOO), today turned into a Josh and Kelly Day Of Fun!
We slept in a bit today since we were up late last night. It was nice to sleep a little longer, but Bella, Josh's adorable, tailless manx cat, meowed me awake at an earlier hour than I thought was appropriate. That's OK, though, because me and Bella have become good friends. She likes to play in my suitcase and chew on my shoes and hairbands.
It wasn't going to be a very intense day, since it's my last full one in Denver. :( Our first stop of the day was the Celestial Seasonings Tea factory! I finally got to go! :) It was actually fun! We learned a lot about the company and about how the stuff is made. I also found out that it is the only Celestial Tea factory in the world, so if you've ever enjoyed a cup of Sleepytime, I've been in the factory where it was made. We got to see the rooms where the ingredients are stored, and we survived the Mint Room (very Willy Wonka, no?), where the menthol will burn your face off if you are too sensitive to it. Josh, me, and only about three other people could stand to be in there for longer than a second. We had to wear hairnets for the whole tour which were tres sexy.
After browsing in the shop a while, Josh decided we needed Indian food, and drove me up the mountains outside of Boulder to a place called Nederlands. The drive was absolutely gorgeous! It wasn't as pretty as Zion National Park, but it is a very close second to some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen! Also, it SNOWED on us on the way! Snow! In June! I loved it! :) We stopped at a restaurant called Katmandu, which was a place Josh knew of from when he was in the Order. I'd never had Indian food before, so I was a little scared, but it was sooooooooo gooooooood. I liked everything I had, except for this vegetable thing that about burnt my gizzard off from the spices. We also had proper Chai, which was delicious. We stuffed ourselves and then drove back down the mountain again.
We went to the Pearl Street mall, which is where Jeoff and I had gone on Thursday. Apparently, Josh had never been, so I wanted to take him to the artists co-op to see if there was anything he could find for his new house. The place is stuffed with gorgeous arts and crafts, but most of it is very expensive. Josh saw some things he liked, but will probably have to save up a bit for some of the nicer stuff. After that we walked around, going in and out of different places. I introduced Josh to Lush, which I've been a long time fan of, and after shopping a bit more, we headed back to Denver. We did make one more stop, at a place called The Great Indoors. It's a home decorating, furniture, fixtures and such store. Now I want to redecorate everything. :)
We came back to Josh's place and rested for a while before going back out again. For dinner, we went to Hamburger Mary's, which has drag queens and fantastic burgers. We didn't see any queens, but the burgers were there in full force. We had so much fun, but we finally had to go back so that I could pack. I have so much stuff to take home that trying to get it all in my suitcase will be a chore. Bleh.
June 20, 2011
Since Jeoff had to go back to Lamar last night (BOO), today turned into a Josh and Kelly Day Of Fun!
We slept in a bit today since we were up late last night. It was nice to sleep a little longer, but Bella, Josh's adorable, tailless manx cat, meowed me awake at an earlier hour than I thought was appropriate. That's OK, though, because me and Bella have become good friends. She likes to play in my suitcase and chew on my shoes and hairbands.
It wasn't going to be a very intense day, since it's my last full one in Denver. :( Our first stop of the day was the Celestial Seasonings Tea factory! I finally got to go! :) It was actually fun! We learned a lot about the company and about how the stuff is made. I also found out that it is the only Celestial Tea factory in the world, so if you've ever enjoyed a cup of Sleepytime, I've been in the factory where it was made. We got to see the rooms where the ingredients are stored, and we survived the Mint Room (very Willy Wonka, no?), where the menthol will burn your face off if you are too sensitive to it. Josh, me, and only about three other people could stand to be in there for longer than a second. We had to wear hairnets for the whole tour which were tres sexy.
After browsing in the shop a while, Josh decided we needed Indian food, and drove me up the mountains outside of Boulder to a place called Nederlands. The drive was absolutely gorgeous! It wasn't as pretty as Zion National Park, but it is a very close second to some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen! Also, it SNOWED on us on the way! Snow! In June! I loved it! :) We stopped at a restaurant called Katmandu, which was a place Josh knew of from when he was in the Order. I'd never had Indian food before, so I was a little scared, but it was sooooooooo gooooooood. I liked everything I had, except for this vegetable thing that about burnt my gizzard off from the spices. We also had proper Chai, which was delicious. We stuffed ourselves and then drove back down the mountain again.
We went to the Pearl Street mall, which is where Jeoff and I had gone on Thursday. Apparently, Josh had never been, so I wanted to take him to the artists co-op to see if there was anything he could find for his new house. The place is stuffed with gorgeous arts and crafts, but most of it is very expensive. Josh saw some things he liked, but will probably have to save up a bit for some of the nicer stuff. After that we walked around, going in and out of different places. I introduced Josh to Lush, which I've been a long time fan of, and after shopping a bit more, we headed back to Denver. We did make one more stop, at a place called The Great Indoors. It's a home decorating, furniture, fixtures and such store. Now I want to redecorate everything. :)
We came back to Josh's place and rested for a while before going back out again. For dinner, we went to Hamburger Mary's, which has drag queens and fantastic burgers. We didn't see any queens, but the burgers were there in full force. We had so much fun, but we finally had to go back so that I could pack. I have so much stuff to take home that trying to get it all in my suitcase will be a chore. Bleh.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
BLOGGED ALONG THE WAY: ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH EDITION
June 19, 2011
It was another great day in the Mile High City! Josh and Jeoff took me to a parade!
I knew that there wasn't a holiday or anything, so when I asked what the parade was for, they said it was for Denver Pride. I thought that was really awesome. I mean, it's always the little towns that have a lot of civic pride, but you never see the big towns going through the trouble of having a parade, right?
We got up early so that we could have breakfast at a local bar called Charlie's. Josh said it was a cowboy bar that doesn't usually serve food, but on Denver Pride day, they have a buffet. We got there pretty early. There were a lot of men there, but only a few were cowboys. I also saw a man there dressed in leather short-shorts and some kind of weird leather strappy thing. Wow, that couldn't ever be unseen. My guess was that he was on a float or something, because I can't imagine anyone wearing a thing like that for fun.
The parade started at about 9:30 am, and it was so much fun! It was loud, and people were throwing beads, and everyone was waving these rainbow flags. I thought that was a nice touch, since Colorado calls itself "Colorful Colorado." I guess that was a nod to the state slogan. There were a lot of beauty queens in this parade. I mean, A LOT. More queens than I'd ever seen in any parade before, really. Honestly, though, I kind of thought that most of them were a little too made up. Lots of make up, big hair and the gaudiest dresses you've ever seen. There was also a lot of men walking in the parade wearing skimpy bathing suits. I didn't see a banner for them, but I guessed they must have been a city swim team or something because there were a whole lot them in the skimpy suits and not much else. That was weird. I mean, who wears speedos in a parade? There were a lot of floats that had music playing really loud, and most of it was Lady Gaga stuff. You'd think there would be more of a selection of music for a city parade, but I guess her music is really popular now. There were also a lot of people in costumes! There were these women dressed as bikers and driving big motorcycles, there were men dressed up with these big feather things that spread out behind them and glitter on their faces, so I guess they were dressed as peacocks or something. There was a group of men that came by wearing the leather and stuff, like the guy I'd seen earlier, but I didn't get a chance to read the sign that they were holding. Maybe they were a cosplay group dressed as gladiators or something. There were politicians and church groups holding up signs that said "God Loves Everyone!" and "Thank God You Were Born That Way!" which I thought was great! It's nice when churches can get involved with city events, especially when they are promoting good self esteem. Probably the weirdest thing in the parade was a float that went by that had some men walking beside it, and they were throwing stuff in the crowd. I don't actually think he meant to hit me in the face, but a handful of the stuff he was throwing hit me right in the head and fell all over the ground. I picked it up and put it in my purse, and when I got a chance to read the little packets, they all said 'personal lubricant." Why was that guy throwing lotion samples into the crowd? Well, I ended up with a whole lot of them. I'll probably take them to church and give them to the little old ladies. They love stuff like that.
After the last float passed by, everyone followed the parade and walked down to a gigantic park by the state capitol building. It was SO full of people, I was a little overwhelmed. I've never seen that many people all together in one place before. I found out later that there was over 300,000 people in the park at the same time. This was the second part of the Denver Pride event. There were food vendors, merchandise booths, booths for charities and things like that. We walked around the whole park and looked at everything. I was so glad to see that everyone was having so much fun being proud of Denver. It seemed to make everyone very happy to be there. There were lots of people holding hands and hugging. It was nice to see that the love for their city just seemed to bring everyone together. As I passed one of the booths, a man caught my arm and asked me a question. It was kind of loud, but I heard him say the word "straight." Maybe he was asking for directions or something, but all I did was say "Yes, straight." He grabbed me and gave me a big hug and kiss on the cheek and said he was so glad I was born the way I was and that I was being very supportive! It was very sweet. :) I've never met anyone so excited about getting directions before! I don't know what the way I was born had to do with anything, but I'm glad I could help him out. We stayed there for a while, got a snack and people watched for a while, but we had one more stop to make before we were done with the event.
Josh told me we were going to a bar called The Wrangler to sit and grab a drink before going home. He told me there were bears in the bar and I kind of got worried at that. The building he pointed out didn't look very big, and there were a lot of people around. I didn't think it would be very safe to have bears inside with all of those people. I think he had just been joking with me, though, because there weren't any bears inside at all! All I saw were a lot of big, beefy dudes with beards and stuff. I met a lot of really nice guys inside, and so many of them were good looking! Too bad I'm married, right?!
We finally headed home and Josh and I got cleaned up and changed clothes so we could go to Jeoff's mother's house for a cookout. I also finally got to meet Loanne, Jeoff's best girlfriend. She was really sweet! We had a lot of fun! We ate, talked, laughed, and watched part of the Daytime Emmy Awards. Jeoff had to leave to head back down to his house in Lamar, so we all said goodbye and Josh and I came home and crashed. It was a very good day!
June 19, 2011
It was another great day in the Mile High City! Josh and Jeoff took me to a parade!
I knew that there wasn't a holiday or anything, so when I asked what the parade was for, they said it was for Denver Pride. I thought that was really awesome. I mean, it's always the little towns that have a lot of civic pride, but you never see the big towns going through the trouble of having a parade, right?
We got up early so that we could have breakfast at a local bar called Charlie's. Josh said it was a cowboy bar that doesn't usually serve food, but on Denver Pride day, they have a buffet. We got there pretty early. There were a lot of men there, but only a few were cowboys. I also saw a man there dressed in leather short-shorts and some kind of weird leather strappy thing. Wow, that couldn't ever be unseen. My guess was that he was on a float or something, because I can't imagine anyone wearing a thing like that for fun.
The parade started at about 9:30 am, and it was so much fun! It was loud, and people were throwing beads, and everyone was waving these rainbow flags. I thought that was a nice touch, since Colorado calls itself "Colorful Colorado." I guess that was a nod to the state slogan. There were a lot of beauty queens in this parade. I mean, A LOT. More queens than I'd ever seen in any parade before, really. Honestly, though, I kind of thought that most of them were a little too made up. Lots of make up, big hair and the gaudiest dresses you've ever seen. There was also a lot of men walking in the parade wearing skimpy bathing suits. I didn't see a banner for them, but I guessed they must have been a city swim team or something because there were a whole lot them in the skimpy suits and not much else. That was weird. I mean, who wears speedos in a parade? There were a lot of floats that had music playing really loud, and most of it was Lady Gaga stuff. You'd think there would be more of a selection of music for a city parade, but I guess her music is really popular now. There were also a lot of people in costumes! There were these women dressed as bikers and driving big motorcycles, there were men dressed up with these big feather things that spread out behind them and glitter on their faces, so I guess they were dressed as peacocks or something. There was a group of men that came by wearing the leather and stuff, like the guy I'd seen earlier, but I didn't get a chance to read the sign that they were holding. Maybe they were a cosplay group dressed as gladiators or something. There were politicians and church groups holding up signs that said "God Loves Everyone!" and "Thank God You Were Born That Way!" which I thought was great! It's nice when churches can get involved with city events, especially when they are promoting good self esteem. Probably the weirdest thing in the parade was a float that went by that had some men walking beside it, and they were throwing stuff in the crowd. I don't actually think he meant to hit me in the face, but a handful of the stuff he was throwing hit me right in the head and fell all over the ground. I picked it up and put it in my purse, and when I got a chance to read the little packets, they all said 'personal lubricant." Why was that guy throwing lotion samples into the crowd? Well, I ended up with a whole lot of them. I'll probably take them to church and give them to the little old ladies. They love stuff like that.
After the last float passed by, everyone followed the parade and walked down to a gigantic park by the state capitol building. It was SO full of people, I was a little overwhelmed. I've never seen that many people all together in one place before. I found out later that there was over 300,000 people in the park at the same time. This was the second part of the Denver Pride event. There were food vendors, merchandise booths, booths for charities and things like that. We walked around the whole park and looked at everything. I was so glad to see that everyone was having so much fun being proud of Denver. It seemed to make everyone very happy to be there. There were lots of people holding hands and hugging. It was nice to see that the love for their city just seemed to bring everyone together. As I passed one of the booths, a man caught my arm and asked me a question. It was kind of loud, but I heard him say the word "straight." Maybe he was asking for directions or something, but all I did was say "Yes, straight." He grabbed me and gave me a big hug and kiss on the cheek and said he was so glad I was born the way I was and that I was being very supportive! It was very sweet. :) I've never met anyone so excited about getting directions before! I don't know what the way I was born had to do with anything, but I'm glad I could help him out. We stayed there for a while, got a snack and people watched for a while, but we had one more stop to make before we were done with the event.
Josh told me we were going to a bar called The Wrangler to sit and grab a drink before going home. He told me there were bears in the bar and I kind of got worried at that. The building he pointed out didn't look very big, and there were a lot of people around. I didn't think it would be very safe to have bears inside with all of those people. I think he had just been joking with me, though, because there weren't any bears inside at all! All I saw were a lot of big, beefy dudes with beards and stuff. I met a lot of really nice guys inside, and so many of them were good looking! Too bad I'm married, right?!
We finally headed home and Josh and I got cleaned up and changed clothes so we could go to Jeoff's mother's house for a cookout. I also finally got to meet Loanne, Jeoff's best girlfriend. She was really sweet! We had a lot of fun! We ate, talked, laughed, and watched part of the Daytime Emmy Awards. Jeoff had to leave to head back down to his house in Lamar, so we all said goodbye and Josh and I came home and crashed. It was a very good day!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
BLOGGED ALONG THE WAY: ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH EDITION
June 18, 2011
Today was such an awesome day!
Josh had class in the morning, so Jeoff and I hung out around the house and did various thises and thats until Josh came back home. Actually, Jeoff was being industrious and doing his homework. I sat on the couch and dozed with the cat. :) Josh left school early and we were on our way!
Our plan today was one of the things I'd asked to do specifically while I was out here. We were going to drive to Estes Park and visit The Stanley Hotel! Squee!!!!
For those of you who aren't Stephen King fans, The Stanley is a huge resort hotel up in the mountains where the book "The Shining" was created. Mr. King was living in Boulder in the 70's and had just had a book rejected from his publisher. He decided that he needed to get away and try to think up a new story, so he and his wife drove to The Stanley and asked for a room. Since it was the end of the season, and the hotel staff was in the process of closing down the hotel for the winter, he and his wife were the only two guests in the hotel. Since the hotel is allegedly haunted, Mr. King was woken up by a nightmare and voila! The Shining was born. This is how the tour guide explained it, so...I guess it must be right.
The hotel is beautiful, old and huge, and has some of the most gorgeous scenery out of the front windows. You can see snow capped mountains, even in the summer! Gah! Loved it!
We were actually at the hotel for a ghost and history tour, which are very popular. We began our tour learning a bit about the history of the hotel and the family that started it, about why "The Shining" was written and how it affected the hotel itself. The tour guide was very excited, but I got the idea that she may have still been in the process of learning how to do the tours, because some of her stories were a bit disconnected. Anyway, we walked all over the hotel and saw most of the areas of the place that are supposed to be haunted. It was so much fun! I love ghost tours! It was especially cool because the hotel is so old and has a lot of interesting non-paranormal history behind it. I took lots of pictures, but I don't think I caught any ghoolies, ghosties, or long-leggedy beasties. I tried to, though! I really want to catch a ghost, darn it! :( I guess I'm not "open" enough to the experience. Heh. Actually, I realized that a lot of the things the tour guide said and did were basically a way to plant suggestions into the minds of the people listening. Funnily enough, the guide said she was skeptical about the whole thing and that she knew that most stories DO plant suggestions into the listeners minds...and then she went on to do just that.
Oh, the best part of the tour was when we were all standing in an empty bedroom on the "Children's Floor", trying to "feel the spirits of the children's ghosts." She asked us all to close our eyes and let our hands hang down to our sides. The ghosts of the children sometimes come and hold your hand, if they sense you work with kids or are around kids. So we were all doing this when some dude in the back freaked out and said something touched his hand. In my humble opinion, he was faking. I can't explain why he would do it unless it had something to do with trying to startle everyone. Anyway, this guy had just made us all jump, and the tour guide asked us to try again. So we were all standing there, eyes closed, and hands out.
Now, Josh has this ring tone on his phone that is so very creepy. It sounds like a little kid giggling. It's supposed to be a happy sound, I suppose, but it really makes me think of Chucky or something equally as disturbing. It's a creepy kid giggle, is what I'm trying to say.
Ok, so we're all standing there, eyes closed, crammed into this hot bedroom, and had just been startled by the guy who said something touched his hand. It was really quiet when Jeoff secretly text messaged Josh and that giggle went off. Oh, y'all, I bet there were some stained dainties in that room with us! It even freaked out the tour guide! I think we could have gotten away with it if Josh hadn't laughed ! It was so funny. After that, the tour wound down and we went on our way. I very much want to go back and do one of their Ghost Hunting events, and if I can't do that, I want to stay in one of the haunted rooms! The whole thing was so awesome!
After the hotel, we went down into Estes Park and walked along the strip of souvenir shops and restaurants. I love doing that, because you can just go in and out and shop and loiter and do whatever. We each bought a few things, and Jeoff and Josh did a wine tasting. It was fun to watch, but I just simply don't enjoy wine, so I had to live vicariously. We had dinner at one of the local places, which had delicious food, and then we said our goodbyes to Estes Park and came home.
It was such a fun day!
June 18, 2011
Today was such an awesome day!
Josh had class in the morning, so Jeoff and I hung out around the house and did various thises and thats until Josh came back home. Actually, Jeoff was being industrious and doing his homework. I sat on the couch and dozed with the cat. :) Josh left school early and we were on our way!
Our plan today was one of the things I'd asked to do specifically while I was out here. We were going to drive to Estes Park and visit The Stanley Hotel! Squee!!!!
For those of you who aren't Stephen King fans, The Stanley is a huge resort hotel up in the mountains where the book "The Shining" was created. Mr. King was living in Boulder in the 70's and had just had a book rejected from his publisher. He decided that he needed to get away and try to think up a new story, so he and his wife drove to The Stanley and asked for a room. Since it was the end of the season, and the hotel staff was in the process of closing down the hotel for the winter, he and his wife were the only two guests in the hotel. Since the hotel is allegedly haunted, Mr. King was woken up by a nightmare and voila! The Shining was born. This is how the tour guide explained it, so...I guess it must be right.
The hotel is beautiful, old and huge, and has some of the most gorgeous scenery out of the front windows. You can see snow capped mountains, even in the summer! Gah! Loved it!
We were actually at the hotel for a ghost and history tour, which are very popular. We began our tour learning a bit about the history of the hotel and the family that started it, about why "The Shining" was written and how it affected the hotel itself. The tour guide was very excited, but I got the idea that she may have still been in the process of learning how to do the tours, because some of her stories were a bit disconnected. Anyway, we walked all over the hotel and saw most of the areas of the place that are supposed to be haunted. It was so much fun! I love ghost tours! It was especially cool because the hotel is so old and has a lot of interesting non-paranormal history behind it. I took lots of pictures, but I don't think I caught any ghoolies, ghosties, or long-leggedy beasties. I tried to, though! I really want to catch a ghost, darn it! :( I guess I'm not "open" enough to the experience. Heh. Actually, I realized that a lot of the things the tour guide said and did were basically a way to plant suggestions into the minds of the people listening. Funnily enough, the guide said she was skeptical about the whole thing and that she knew that most stories DO plant suggestions into the listeners minds...and then she went on to do just that.
Oh, the best part of the tour was when we were all standing in an empty bedroom on the "Children's Floor", trying to "feel the spirits of the children's ghosts." She asked us all to close our eyes and let our hands hang down to our sides. The ghosts of the children sometimes come and hold your hand, if they sense you work with kids or are around kids. So we were all doing this when some dude in the back freaked out and said something touched his hand. In my humble opinion, he was faking. I can't explain why he would do it unless it had something to do with trying to startle everyone. Anyway, this guy had just made us all jump, and the tour guide asked us to try again. So we were all standing there, eyes closed, and hands out.
Now, Josh has this ring tone on his phone that is so very creepy. It sounds like a little kid giggling. It's supposed to be a happy sound, I suppose, but it really makes me think of Chucky or something equally as disturbing. It's a creepy kid giggle, is what I'm trying to say.
Ok, so we're all standing there, eyes closed, crammed into this hot bedroom, and had just been startled by the guy who said something touched his hand. It was really quiet when Jeoff secretly text messaged Josh and that giggle went off. Oh, y'all, I bet there were some stained dainties in that room with us! It even freaked out the tour guide! I think we could have gotten away with it if Josh hadn't laughed ! It was so funny. After that, the tour wound down and we went on our way. I very much want to go back and do one of their Ghost Hunting events, and if I can't do that, I want to stay in one of the haunted rooms! The whole thing was so awesome!
After the hotel, we went down into Estes Park and walked along the strip of souvenir shops and restaurants. I love doing that, because you can just go in and out and shop and loiter and do whatever. We each bought a few things, and Jeoff and Josh did a wine tasting. It was fun to watch, but I just simply don't enjoy wine, so I had to live vicariously. We had dinner at one of the local places, which had delicious food, and then we said our goodbyes to Estes Park and came home.
It was such a fun day!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
BLOGGED ALONG THE WAY: ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH EDITION
June 17, 2011
Today was a very low key day, but still quite fun!
We had planned to go on a tour of the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory (shut up, I wanted to see!) but those plans got kind of derailed. It wasn't a terrible thing, though, because Josh and Jeoff were helping out a friend and things just took a little longer than we thought they would. :)
Josh, Jeoff and I drove to an apartment complex to pick up Joel, one of their friends. He was having some work done on his car, so Josh took Joel to have that done and I was once again left me in Jeoff's capable hands. Since they had invited some friends over for a get together, we went to King Supers and picked up food for the party. We brought everything home and put it away and then just hung out and watched CNN news for a while. Jeoff and I made fun of people that were being reported, which was a lot of fun! We thought that Josh would be back soon, but time just kept spinning out. Since we had waited so long and hadn't eaten, we finally just jumped in the car and went out to Earl's Sandwich Shop, which has some AMAZING sandwiches! Unfortunately, the shop was closing, so we got our sammies to go and drove back to Joel's apartment and ate there.
We left and went to a gigantic liquor store to pick up some wine for the party. I'd never seen anything like this place before. It was huge! It was like a Wal-Mart for alcoholics or something. I've never seen a liquor store where people had shopping lists! They also had shopping carts! There was so very much alcohol. I enjoyed walking around and looking at the bottles and labels. I believe that there are a lot of beautiful bottle and label designs for alcohol, so even though I wasn't interested in buying anything, I still enjoyed looking. I got carded because I was with people who were buying wine. Since my I.D. is from out of state, it gets looked at much more closely. Of course, for some reason people out here think I'm much, much younger than I really am too, but I'm not going to complain about that!
We finally got home and started getting ready for the party! I employed my culinary talents to cut up veggies for a tray, and everyone else did the hard stuff. The people who came over were predominately Jeoff's friends, and they were all really nice! The guests kind of came in two waves, so we almost had two separate parties. It was fun, though. I met a lot of great people that I liked a lot!
I did have one unfortunate moment when someone asked me where I was from. When I said Huntsville, she immediately said "Huntsville? That's where Antoine Dotson is from, right?!" Seriously, people in my town sent humans to the moon, but when you say Huntsville, all they can think of is that guy. Oy Freaking Vey.
Now we're all so exhausted, so I'm about to head off to bed! Tomorrow is another adventure!
June 17, 2011
Today was a very low key day, but still quite fun!
We had planned to go on a tour of the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory (shut up, I wanted to see!) but those plans got kind of derailed. It wasn't a terrible thing, though, because Josh and Jeoff were helping out a friend and things just took a little longer than we thought they would. :)
Josh, Jeoff and I drove to an apartment complex to pick up Joel, one of their friends. He was having some work done on his car, so Josh took Joel to have that done and I was once again left me in Jeoff's capable hands. Since they had invited some friends over for a get together, we went to King Supers and picked up food for the party. We brought everything home and put it away and then just hung out and watched CNN news for a while. Jeoff and I made fun of people that were being reported, which was a lot of fun! We thought that Josh would be back soon, but time just kept spinning out. Since we had waited so long and hadn't eaten, we finally just jumped in the car and went out to Earl's Sandwich Shop, which has some AMAZING sandwiches! Unfortunately, the shop was closing, so we got our sammies to go and drove back to Joel's apartment and ate there.
We left and went to a gigantic liquor store to pick up some wine for the party. I'd never seen anything like this place before. It was huge! It was like a Wal-Mart for alcoholics or something. I've never seen a liquor store where people had shopping lists! They also had shopping carts! There was so very much alcohol. I enjoyed walking around and looking at the bottles and labels. I believe that there are a lot of beautiful bottle and label designs for alcohol, so even though I wasn't interested in buying anything, I still enjoyed looking. I got carded because I was with people who were buying wine. Since my I.D. is from out of state, it gets looked at much more closely. Of course, for some reason people out here think I'm much, much younger than I really am too, but I'm not going to complain about that!
We finally got home and started getting ready for the party! I employed my culinary talents to cut up veggies for a tray, and everyone else did the hard stuff. The people who came over were predominately Jeoff's friends, and they were all really nice! The guests kind of came in two waves, so we almost had two separate parties. It was fun, though. I met a lot of great people that I liked a lot!
I did have one unfortunate moment when someone asked me where I was from. When I said Huntsville, she immediately said "Huntsville? That's where Antoine Dotson is from, right?!" Seriously, people in my town sent humans to the moon, but when you say Huntsville, all they can think of is that guy. Oy Freaking Vey.
Now we're all so exhausted, so I'm about to head off to bed! Tomorrow is another adventure!
Friday, June 17, 2011
BLOGGED ALONG THE WAY: ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH EDITION
June 16, 2011
Today we slept in a bit and then Josh and I got ready to go get mani-pedis. Yeah, I've never called them that before, but that is what we were going to do! There is a beauty college a little bit from here, and they were having a special, plus my feet looked awful. They weren't looking so hot while I was at home, but once I spent the day in the dry climate, I had hobbit feet, so I'm glad we did this.
Believe it or not, the girl didn't tickle me very much at all. I warned her that I was severely ticklish, so I think she was being careful so that I wouldn't kick her in the face. :) She was a newish student, so she was doing everything really slowly, so we ended up staying there far longer than we thought we would. Josh had a job interview later in the day, so he had to go and run errands while I was still in the chair. I finally got done, and unfortunately, Josh's interview time was looming quite closely and the traffic snarled up at the worst moment. We inched down the street, and finally had to cut through some neighborhoods to get back on the interstate! Josh was driving like a bat out of hell, and I was praying we wouldn't end up smeared on a guard rail!
We got home in just enough time for me to try and print out his paperwork (we'd had printer issues earlier in the day and had to get a new ink cartridge while we were out) while he jumped in the shower and got dressed. Luckily he made it out in just enough time to get to his interview with a minute or two to spare! Score! :)
At that point I was in Jeoff's hands, and he took me to Boulder, which is about 30 to 45 minutes from Denver. I loved Boulder! It was so beautiful and had streets lined with independent shops and restaurants! It also had aggressive non-profit workers who jumped on us first thing, but Jeoff knew how to handle them! We walked, talked and browsed through interesting shops and had a lot of fun! Well, I had a lot of fun, so I hope Jeoff wasn't bored out of his mind. He was nice enough to pretend he was having fun at least! We had lunch at the Boulder Cafe, and the food was wonderful. When we got the check, the people had given us a "Happy Discount" on our bill. We thought that was awesome! It is probably something they do for everyone, but I choose to believe it was because we were laughing so much!
We walked a bit more, but we were kind of on a deadline, and Jeoff's knee still isn't so great, so we left Boulder, ran a couple of errands, and came home. Boulder is just lovely. I'd only read about it in The Stand, so it was totally different than I had pictured it in my head, and I loved it. To borrow a phrase from Josh, "I could totally live there!"
Once Josh got back from school, we went out to get Pho, which is a noodle soup that you add all kinds of stuff to. It was delish, of course, even though I had trouble eating it. I had a spoon, a fork and chopsticks, and I still couldn't get things out of the bowl without getting it all over myself. We also had bubble tea, like the kind I had tried making a couple of months ago, but it was so much better than my version! NOM!
We had planned to go play trivia at a local pub, but we ended up being too late to participate, so they took me to a cute little bar called "Double Daughters" for something called a "Teddy Bear Orgy" which is some kind of martini with gummy bears in it. I broke my no drinking rule since Josh wanted me to have one of those specifically! It tasted like Hawaiian Punch with vodka in it. I had two. Luckily, I didn't embarrass myself or my two dates, and we had a really fun time talking with each other and with one of the club DJs, whose name was Craig. He was excited to hear I was from Alabama, because his boyfriend was from Alabama, so I had to tell him about Huntsville and where it was in relation to where his boyfriend was from. Also, he tried to talk me into moving to Denver and told me all about where Steve could get work in IT and where the best places to buy a home and stuff are around here. They almost have me talked into it I think! Don't tell Steve!
Once we got home, we sat around and talked for a while, and I remembered why I don't want to drink anymore (not badly, just enough to remind me) and I went to bed. Good times, noodle salad. :)
June 16, 2011
Today we slept in a bit and then Josh and I got ready to go get mani-pedis. Yeah, I've never called them that before, but that is what we were going to do! There is a beauty college a little bit from here, and they were having a special, plus my feet looked awful. They weren't looking so hot while I was at home, but once I spent the day in the dry climate, I had hobbit feet, so I'm glad we did this.
Believe it or not, the girl didn't tickle me very much at all. I warned her that I was severely ticklish, so I think she was being careful so that I wouldn't kick her in the face. :) She was a newish student, so she was doing everything really slowly, so we ended up staying there far longer than we thought we would. Josh had a job interview later in the day, so he had to go and run errands while I was still in the chair. I finally got done, and unfortunately, Josh's interview time was looming quite closely and the traffic snarled up at the worst moment. We inched down the street, and finally had to cut through some neighborhoods to get back on the interstate! Josh was driving like a bat out of hell, and I was praying we wouldn't end up smeared on a guard rail!
We got home in just enough time for me to try and print out his paperwork (we'd had printer issues earlier in the day and had to get a new ink cartridge while we were out) while he jumped in the shower and got dressed. Luckily he made it out in just enough time to get to his interview with a minute or two to spare! Score! :)
At that point I was in Jeoff's hands, and he took me to Boulder, which is about 30 to 45 minutes from Denver. I loved Boulder! It was so beautiful and had streets lined with independent shops and restaurants! It also had aggressive non-profit workers who jumped on us first thing, but Jeoff knew how to handle them! We walked, talked and browsed through interesting shops and had a lot of fun! Well, I had a lot of fun, so I hope Jeoff wasn't bored out of his mind. He was nice enough to pretend he was having fun at least! We had lunch at the Boulder Cafe, and the food was wonderful. When we got the check, the people had given us a "Happy Discount" on our bill. We thought that was awesome! It is probably something they do for everyone, but I choose to believe it was because we were laughing so much!
We walked a bit more, but we were kind of on a deadline, and Jeoff's knee still isn't so great, so we left Boulder, ran a couple of errands, and came home. Boulder is just lovely. I'd only read about it in The Stand, so it was totally different than I had pictured it in my head, and I loved it. To borrow a phrase from Josh, "I could totally live there!"
Once Josh got back from school, we went out to get Pho, which is a noodle soup that you add all kinds of stuff to. It was delish, of course, even though I had trouble eating it. I had a spoon, a fork and chopsticks, and I still couldn't get things out of the bowl without getting it all over myself. We also had bubble tea, like the kind I had tried making a couple of months ago, but it was so much better than my version! NOM!
We had planned to go play trivia at a local pub, but we ended up being too late to participate, so they took me to a cute little bar called "Double Daughters" for something called a "Teddy Bear Orgy" which is some kind of martini with gummy bears in it. I broke my no drinking rule since Josh wanted me to have one of those specifically! It tasted like Hawaiian Punch with vodka in it. I had two. Luckily, I didn't embarrass myself or my two dates, and we had a really fun time talking with each other and with one of the club DJs, whose name was Craig. He was excited to hear I was from Alabama, because his boyfriend was from Alabama, so I had to tell him about Huntsville and where it was in relation to where his boyfriend was from. Also, he tried to talk me into moving to Denver and told me all about where Steve could get work in IT and where the best places to buy a home and stuff are around here. They almost have me talked into it I think! Don't tell Steve!
Once we got home, we sat around and talked for a while, and I remembered why I don't want to drink anymore (not badly, just enough to remind me) and I went to bed. Good times, noodle salad. :)
BLOGGED ALONG THE WAY: ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH EDITION
June 15, 2011
Wow, I think this is the most travel blogging I've ever done in a span of 6 months before!
I woke up this morning at an ungodly hour and headed to the airport! I finally took my long awaited trip to visit Josh! Yay! I've been telling him I'd come and visit him in Denver for the longest time, but one thing and another was keeping me from going. Finally, I just bit the bullet and bought a plane ticket! I'm so glad I did! :)
The flight was early, but really kind of uneventful. I paid a bit extra to get a seat in something called Economy Plus, which seems to be the section of the plane where the seats aren't smashed up against each other. Luckily, no one had bought the seat beside me, so I was able to stretch out a little bit. My only problem was the kid behind me kept kicking my seat, but I didn't think reaching behind me and ripping off his tibia would go over too well with his parents, so I endured it. :) When we began our landing approach, I had a bad moment of thinking something was really wrong and we were going to have to land in a field or something because I could NOT see the airport! However, I was just in a weird section of the plane, I guess, because the airport was there and it was HUGE.
After I landed and got my bags, Josh picked me up in the Chick Magnet and we drove towards his new place! I love his house a lot! It is in a section of Denver that is being gentrified, and I think it may be a remodeled tenement house, but it is gorgeous! It's urban and kind of hip without being pretentious! Just like Josh! Heehee.
After I got settled and changed into cooler clothes (Denver is really hot) he took me on a whirlwind, and if you know how Josh drives that isn't too far from the truth, driving tour through the city. We were going to go on a walk down the 16th street mall, which is a long street lined with shops and restaurants, street performers and non-profit workers who jump on your face and ask for money. They were nice people, but hell if I'm going to hand over my credit card information to people standing on a street corner. Yikes.
Josh tried to kill me right off my making me walk up a flight of stairs. It wasn't even a big flight, really, but carp, it was hard to do. Denver is at such a high elevation that I couldn't fricking breathe as I climbed. By the time we got to the top, I almost passed out! However, I managed to make it, thank goodness. We walked and talked and had a really great time catching up! We didn't go into many stores, but we did eat gelato as we walked and it was very nice.
After that, we made a run to the grocery store for staples and the makings of an al fresco dinner out on his lanai (it's probably not called a lanai here, but we're playing Golden Girls this week). After that we took it easy and waited on Jeoff to come in from Lamar. It's a long drive, and the poor guy has a bum knee from falling down the stairs, so we just relaxed and talked until we decided to go to bed.
I'm so glad I came! :)
June 15, 2011
Wow, I think this is the most travel blogging I've ever done in a span of 6 months before!
I woke up this morning at an ungodly hour and headed to the airport! I finally took my long awaited trip to visit Josh! Yay! I've been telling him I'd come and visit him in Denver for the longest time, but one thing and another was keeping me from going. Finally, I just bit the bullet and bought a plane ticket! I'm so glad I did! :)
The flight was early, but really kind of uneventful. I paid a bit extra to get a seat in something called Economy Plus, which seems to be the section of the plane where the seats aren't smashed up against each other. Luckily, no one had bought the seat beside me, so I was able to stretch out a little bit. My only problem was the kid behind me kept kicking my seat, but I didn't think reaching behind me and ripping off his tibia would go over too well with his parents, so I endured it. :) When we began our landing approach, I had a bad moment of thinking something was really wrong and we were going to have to land in a field or something because I could NOT see the airport! However, I was just in a weird section of the plane, I guess, because the airport was there and it was HUGE.
After I landed and got my bags, Josh picked me up in the Chick Magnet and we drove towards his new place! I love his house a lot! It is in a section of Denver that is being gentrified, and I think it may be a remodeled tenement house, but it is gorgeous! It's urban and kind of hip without being pretentious! Just like Josh! Heehee.
After I got settled and changed into cooler clothes (Denver is really hot) he took me on a whirlwind, and if you know how Josh drives that isn't too far from the truth, driving tour through the city. We were going to go on a walk down the 16th street mall, which is a long street lined with shops and restaurants, street performers and non-profit workers who jump on your face and ask for money. They were nice people, but hell if I'm going to hand over my credit card information to people standing on a street corner. Yikes.
Josh tried to kill me right off my making me walk up a flight of stairs. It wasn't even a big flight, really, but carp, it was hard to do. Denver is at such a high elevation that I couldn't fricking breathe as I climbed. By the time we got to the top, I almost passed out! However, I managed to make it, thank goodness. We walked and talked and had a really great time catching up! We didn't go into many stores, but we did eat gelato as we walked and it was very nice.
After that, we made a run to the grocery store for staples and the makings of an al fresco dinner out on his lanai (it's probably not called a lanai here, but we're playing Golden Girls this week). After that we took it easy and waited on Jeoff to come in from Lamar. It's a long drive, and the poor guy has a bum knee from falling down the stairs, so we just relaxed and talked until we decided to go to bed.
I'm so glad I came! :)
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
RANDOM ACTS OF BLOGGING
1) You know, I realize I should have ended my story about traveling out west with a bang, but the last couple of days of our trip were a bit anticlimactic. We drove back to Las Vegas, hung out in a giant electronic store called "Fry's" for a while, found our hotel, ordered in very generous portions of food from a local Italian restaurant, and watched TV. Our return flight was at an ungodly early hour, so we only slept for a while before getting up and heading back to the airport. The pill I take to keep from freaking out when I fly put me to sleep before we got out off of the runway, so I missed the exciting take off portion of the trip. In conclusion, we had a really great time, so I'm glad we got to go on our wild west adventure!! You guys should totally go out there.
2) Congratulations are in order for my bestie Sara! She and Ron are now engaged! Woot! Her ring is gorgeous, too. See:
1) You know, I realize I should have ended my story about traveling out west with a bang, but the last couple of days of our trip were a bit anticlimactic. We drove back to Las Vegas, hung out in a giant electronic store called "Fry's" for a while, found our hotel, ordered in very generous portions of food from a local Italian restaurant, and watched TV. Our return flight was at an ungodly early hour, so we only slept for a while before getting up and heading back to the airport. The pill I take to keep from freaking out when I fly put me to sleep before we got out off of the runway, so I missed the exciting take off portion of the trip. In conclusion, we had a really great time, so I'm glad we got to go on our wild west adventure!! You guys should totally go out there.
2) Congratulations are in order for my bestie Sara! She and Ron are now engaged! Woot! Her ring is gorgeous, too. See:
You don't wear a ring like this. You signal ships with it! :)
Anyways, I'm very happy for them both! Congrats! May your lives be happy, your in-laws be tolerable, and your wedding cake NOT end up on Cake Wrecks!
3) Last week, Steve was gone on a business trip, so I was alone and doing my own thing. You'd think since I'm doing the housewifey bit right now, it wouldn't change my daily schedule too much when he's out of town. However, if he's not here and I don't have to make dinner at any certain time or make sure he's got clean pants or whatever it is that I'm supposed to be doing, I just throw everything to the winds and do what I want. It's my chance to watch what I want on TV, have meals when I feel like it, and walk around with no pants on if that's what I want to do. :)
While he was gone, I got into the habit of watching the ID (Investigation Discovery) channel. I didn't seek that channel out on purpose, but I turned it on for background noise and got interested. If you aren't familiar with the ID channel, it's basically the channel with shows about true crime, murders, and forensics. I'll be honest, it isn't the best channel to watch if you're home alone. Especially when most of the shows begin with shots of blurred crime scene photos with a voice over saying something like "The Hoboken Ax Fiend crept into her house while she was alone, murdered her with his dull blade, and violated her mutilated corpse." Yeah...nightmare fuel, but it was morbidly fascinating. I slept with many weapons that week. Probably none of them would have been useful in a real situation, but they made me feel safe!
4) Speaking of the ID channel, I watched a lot of shows where the spouse or parent of the victim was charged with the murder. Now, I'm sure some of them were actually guilty of what they were accused of, and I'm sure that the juries who decided the outcomes heard a lot more evidence of what was going on than what the television showed, but some of the trials where people were sentenced to death or life in prison seemed to leave lots of room for doubt in whether or not the people were actually guilty. One of the things I noticed over and over again was that the detectives, police, and jury members would say "Well, I felt they were guilty because he/she didn't ACT like a grieving parent/spouse. They laughed and didn't act the way a person who has just lost someone would act." That bothered me.
People react differently in times of stress and grief, right? I'd probably be doomed if I was in that situation, because I don't think I behave in what is -apparently- the "right" way when I'm sad. I hate crying, or even seeming upset, in front of other people. So even when things are very bad, I try hard not to cry and I kind of get goofy and make inappropriate jokes and laugh at stupid things. When I'm finally alone, I cram myself into the smallest place I can find and cry till I get a nose bleed. That's just how I deal with really bad things. If anyone saw me, or questioned me, before I got to cram myself into a small place, they'd probably think I had something to do with it. That's a scary thought!
5) I'm supposed to be helping with VBS again this year, but I have no idea what is going on yet. I mean, I know I'm running the sound board and taking pictures like last year, but I know I'm supposed to be doing other stuff as well and I haven't been told anything yet. That makes me nervous! I like to be mentally prepared! Boo.
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