I tried being reasonable, I didn't like it.
-Clint Eastwood
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Ooh La La Pt. 2
Okay, a couple of reactions, in no particular order...
ELLEN! SO AWESOME! I once got into a bit of an argument in which we were deciding who we would clone if we could pick two people to clone (not for the purposes of repopulating the earth, mind you, just two people that we think the world would benefit from having two of) and I picked Ellen, and nobody agreed with me, and now I feel totally vindicated.
Why is Jack Nicholson bald? I'm thinking either (a) cancer or (b) a show of solidarity with Britney?
I loved those shadow dancers. I thought the whole show was really well written and produced, not lame like so many of the recent Oscars. Although, on the flip side, I felt like a lot of the acceptance speeches were quite dull, except Forest Whitaker's. And I liked it when Alan Arkin thanked all his teachers.
Is it weird that I was disappointed that I didn't recognize many of the "in memoriams"?
Can Will Smith's kid read?
I want to BE Beyonce.
The Departed is so awesome and I don't understand why Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio didn't get nominations along with Marky Mark. Even though I still think Eddie Murphy shoulda won. I just bought the Departed as a birthday gift for someone but I'm thinking about keeping it for myself...
So I think I did fairly well with the predictions, huh? I got Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Documentary, Adapted Screenplay, and Original Screenplay.
ELLEN! SO AWESOME! I once got into a bit of an argument in which we were deciding who we would clone if we could pick two people to clone (not for the purposes of repopulating the earth, mind you, just two people that we think the world would benefit from having two of) and I picked Ellen, and nobody agreed with me, and now I feel totally vindicated.
Why is Jack Nicholson bald? I'm thinking either (a) cancer or (b) a show of solidarity with Britney?
I loved those shadow dancers. I thought the whole show was really well written and produced, not lame like so many of the recent Oscars. Although, on the flip side, I felt like a lot of the acceptance speeches were quite dull, except Forest Whitaker's. And I liked it when Alan Arkin thanked all his teachers.
Is it weird that I was disappointed that I didn't recognize many of the "in memoriams"?
Can Will Smith's kid read?
I want to BE Beyonce.
The Departed is so awesome and I don't understand why Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio didn't get nominations along with Marky Mark. Even though I still think Eddie Murphy shoulda won. I just bought the Departed as a birthday gift for someone but I'm thinking about keeping it for myself...
So I think I did fairly well with the predictions, huh? I got Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Documentary, Adapted Screenplay, and Original Screenplay.
Ooh La La, Oscar Night
Watching the "pre-game" show...loved Al Gore saying that if there was a movie of his life, he would want William Hung to play him! Big question of the night - is Gore REALLY going to announce his candidacy for '08?!? I don't know.
A couple predictions...
Best Picture: The Departed (SO amazing!)
Best Actor: Forest Whitaker (I didn't actually see ANY of the movies in this category)
Best Actress: Meryl Streep (that's all)
Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy (his scenes were my favorite parts of Dreamgirls!)
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson (so talented)
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, the Departed (finally)
Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth (duh - I'd bet the farm on this one - did ANYBODY even see any of the other nominees?)
Best Animated Feature: Cars (I love the way the windshields are the eyes instead of the headlights, like most animated cars)
Best Song: Listen from Dreamgirls (why the heck wasn't that I'm Telling You song nominated?)
Best Original Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine (this movie's gotta win SOMETHING)
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed (only one I saw in this category)
Okay, I'm not doing all the lame categories like film editing and sound mixing. BOR-ing.
Okay, back to watching the show...we'll see how psychic I am!
A couple predictions...
Best Picture: The Departed (SO amazing!)
Best Actor: Forest Whitaker (I didn't actually see ANY of the movies in this category)
Best Actress: Meryl Streep (that's all)
Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy (his scenes were my favorite parts of Dreamgirls!)
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson (so talented)
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, the Departed (finally)
Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth (duh - I'd bet the farm on this one - did ANYBODY even see any of the other nominees?)
Best Animated Feature: Cars (I love the way the windshields are the eyes instead of the headlights, like most animated cars)
Best Song: Listen from Dreamgirls (why the heck wasn't that I'm Telling You song nominated?)
Best Original Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine (this movie's gotta win SOMETHING)
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed (only one I saw in this category)
Okay, I'm not doing all the lame categories like film editing and sound mixing. BOR-ing.
Okay, back to watching the show...we'll see how psychic I am!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Excuses, Excuses
So, if anybody's wondering why I haven't been blogging, I enjoyed Vegas SO much I decided to quit my job as an energy consultant and become a showgirl. But it's a cruel, cruel world, so I'm back. ; )
Monday, January 29, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Carbon Taxes
Great blog post regarding the idea of a carbon tax: A Taboo Link. A highlight: "They know they’ve got an uphill fight, because presidents and legislators would rather hand out subsidies and set long-range targets than inflict immediate pain at the pump and in utility bills. But that immediacy is why the carbon tax appeals to so many experts of both parties (at least experts who aren’t running for office)."
But my favorite part is the "guiding principles" of the blog:
* 1. Just because an idea appeals to a lot of people doesn't mean it's wrong.
* 2. But that's a good working theory.
But my favorite part is the "guiding principles" of the blog:
* 1. Just because an idea appeals to a lot of people doesn't mean it's wrong.
* 2. But that's a good working theory.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Five Favorites for January
I meant to start doing this EVERY month, just a way of noting my favorite things periodically so I can look back and say, oh yeah, in October I was obsessed with That 70s Show! (I think I will enjoy that...not sure that anybody else will, but hey, blogs aren't really for the READERS, are they?) Anyways, this month's favorite five:
1. The Office (especially Season 2 on DVD, but also the current season). Nothing better on TV these days. I think it's the best comedy since Seinfeld. Maybe even better than Seinfeld (although they are so different, it's hard to compare). Current favorite Office quote: "The office is like Friends. I'm Chandler...and Joey." (Michael, of course.) Another similar (and classic) Michael quote: "Ryan...is book smart. I am street smart...and book smart."
2. Adobe Photoshop Elements. I have been having SO much fun lately just messing around with Photoshop - I learned some neat effects from a magazine article and I've been digitally altering all my photos ever since. I also have been trying a little digital scrapbooking - I downloaded a bunch of swirly brushes and digital "stamps".
3. L.L. Bean. They are on my good side this week because I saw a suitcase in a catalog for $99, but online it was $119, so I called and asked them to honor the catalog price even though the catalog stated quite clearly that the prices were only in effect until 12/31/06, and they gave me the $99 price! That kind of customer service goes a long way, in my opinion.
4. My new iPod FM transmitter. So I can listen to all my tunes in the car. Frickin' awesome.
5. Soy sauce. Okay, I get that it's basically salt water and probably not worthy of being in my top five. It's just SO tasty! (I'm thinking of soy sauce right now because I made a yummy cashew chicken stir fry last night.)
1. The Office (especially Season 2 on DVD, but also the current season). Nothing better on TV these days. I think it's the best comedy since Seinfeld. Maybe even better than Seinfeld (although they are so different, it's hard to compare). Current favorite Office quote: "The office is like Friends. I'm Chandler...and Joey." (Michael, of course.) Another similar (and classic) Michael quote: "Ryan...is book smart. I am street smart...and book smart."
2. Adobe Photoshop Elements. I have been having SO much fun lately just messing around with Photoshop - I learned some neat effects from a magazine article and I've been digitally altering all my photos ever since. I also have been trying a little digital scrapbooking - I downloaded a bunch of swirly brushes and digital "stamps".
3. L.L. Bean. They are on my good side this week because I saw a suitcase in a catalog for $99, but online it was $119, so I called and asked them to honor the catalog price even though the catalog stated quite clearly that the prices were only in effect until 12/31/06, and they gave me the $99 price! That kind of customer service goes a long way, in my opinion.
4. My new iPod FM transmitter. So I can listen to all my tunes in the car. Frickin' awesome.
5. Soy sauce. Okay, I get that it's basically salt water and probably not worthy of being in my top five. It's just SO tasty! (I'm thinking of soy sauce right now because I made a yummy cashew chicken stir fry last night.)
Friday, January 19, 2007
Wildly Tragic Life Seeking Slightly Comic Attitude
"Life can be wildly tragic at times, and I've had my share. But whatever happens to you, you have to keep a slightly comic attitude. In the final analysis, you have got not to forget to laugh."
-Katherine Hepburn
-Katherine Hepburn
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Photos from Trip to Maine/Boston
Just a couple of highlights from my recent travels...
One of the best parts of the trip was seeing my nephew Kieran, who's about 21 months old, enjoying the first Christmas he was really old enough to understand (if by understanding you mean playing with the stuffed Santas and snowmen around the house).
This picture is from Christmas Day down at Five Islands:
Outside the famous L.L. Bean store there is a live 40' Christmas tree. This year, they decorated the tree with Nalgene bottles, and it was possibly the MOST beautiful Christmas tree I've ever seen! These pictures really don't do it justice.
On my last full day of vacation, my parents and I went to Boston and checked out the new ICA museum. The "art" was a little contemporary for my taste, but the modern building was spectacular! After the museum, we drove through Boston, past Fenway Park (!) and into Cambridge, where we walked around the Harvard campus, had a lovely dinner, and met up with my college friend Sarah for dessert!
One of the best parts of the trip was seeing my nephew Kieran, who's about 21 months old, enjoying the first Christmas he was really old enough to understand (if by understanding you mean playing with the stuffed Santas and snowmen around the house).
This picture is from Christmas Day down at Five Islands:
Outside the famous L.L. Bean store there is a live 40' Christmas tree. This year, they decorated the tree with Nalgene bottles, and it was possibly the MOST beautiful Christmas tree I've ever seen! These pictures really don't do it justice.
On my last full day of vacation, my parents and I went to Boston and checked out the new ICA museum. The "art" was a little contemporary for my taste, but the modern building was spectacular! After the museum, we drove through Boston, past Fenway Park (!) and into Cambridge, where we walked around the Harvard campus, had a lovely dinner, and met up with my college friend Sarah for dessert!
New Year's Resolutions
I can't believe it is 2007! I feel like it only ought to be about April 2006, but sure enough, the calendar tells me it's January 2nd, 2007. Here is my obligatory list of New Year's resolutions:
1. Run the Bolder Boulder. This is the resolution that I tell people when they ask - not that I don't intend to do it, just that it's easier to give a concrete resolution than list off all the less tangible ones listed below. The Bolder Boulder is a 10K race held every Memorial Day weekend. I've never done a 10k before, so this should be interesting. I starting running last October, but due to illness, travel, snow, and the lack of daylight, I've fallen off the wagon! So this week I am devising a training plan, and hopefully in the next few days enough snow will melt that I can safely run in my neighborhood.
2. Read more. I say this every year! A couple of books I'd like to read this year include: Don Quixote, the Jane Austen novels, Barack Obama's book, Robinson Crusoe. Plus, I'd like to stay caught up on the Atlantic Monthly and Time magazine.
3. Organize and decorate my house. Tired of the college dorm room look. I want to paint the walls, get rid of all the boxes, put some art up on the walls, buy a couch, organize my closet, find a nice desk and bookcase, etc.
4. Work on training with Fenway. Fenway is a pretty good dog, but I'd like to finally solve some of his problem behaviors, like jumping up on people, barking, etc. Plus I'd like to teach him to do cool service dog-type commands like putting toys away. That would be super cool.
5. Learn to ski the black diamonds. Maybe not the DOUBLE black diamonds, that can be next year. But I'm definitely ready for the single black diamonds.
6. Make more time for creativity. I'd like to spend less time watching TV and more time doing photography, scrapbooking, playing the piano and other musical instruments, writing, etc.
7. Keep in better touch with friends. I've fallen so out of touch with my Morse and Bowdoin friends - even worse, some of my Colorado friends! So I really want to make an effort this year to remember birthdays, send cards and emails, pick up the phone, and generally be a better friend.
1. Run the Bolder Boulder. This is the resolution that I tell people when they ask - not that I don't intend to do it, just that it's easier to give a concrete resolution than list off all the less tangible ones listed below. The Bolder Boulder is a 10K race held every Memorial Day weekend. I've never done a 10k before, so this should be interesting. I starting running last October, but due to illness, travel, snow, and the lack of daylight, I've fallen off the wagon! So this week I am devising a training plan, and hopefully in the next few days enough snow will melt that I can safely run in my neighborhood.
2. Read more. I say this every year! A couple of books I'd like to read this year include: Don Quixote, the Jane Austen novels, Barack Obama's book, Robinson Crusoe. Plus, I'd like to stay caught up on the Atlantic Monthly and Time magazine.
3. Organize and decorate my house. Tired of the college dorm room look. I want to paint the walls, get rid of all the boxes, put some art up on the walls, buy a couch, organize my closet, find a nice desk and bookcase, etc.
4. Work on training with Fenway. Fenway is a pretty good dog, but I'd like to finally solve some of his problem behaviors, like jumping up on people, barking, etc. Plus I'd like to teach him to do cool service dog-type commands like putting toys away. That would be super cool.
5. Learn to ski the black diamonds. Maybe not the DOUBLE black diamonds, that can be next year. But I'm definitely ready for the single black diamonds.
6. Make more time for creativity. I'd like to spend less time watching TV and more time doing photography, scrapbooking, playing the piano and other musical instruments, writing, etc.
7. Keep in better touch with friends. I've fallen so out of touch with my Morse and Bowdoin friends - even worse, some of my Colorado friends! So I really want to make an effort this year to remember birthdays, send cards and emails, pick up the phone, and generally be a better friend.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Journal Your Christmas Day 7
I am so far behind on this journaling thing that I'm going to start skipping days to catch up. So forget about Day 6 - Day 6 didn't exist this year. On to Day 7. The prompt is about Christmas shopping. This year I made a Christmas resolution (didn't know you could make those, did you?) that I would only buy my Christmas gifts at locally owned business. No more falling back on Amazon.com or Target to buy impersonal gifts! I spend enough at those chains the other 11 months of the year, so I figure it's a good time to support local businesses!
Funny story about this year's Christmas shopping...in the interest of not revealing people's gifts prior to Christmas day, I'll keep this vague. So, I was in a shop, buying a gift for my dad, and as I was checking out, I thought, "Hmm, I bet Dustin (my nephew) would like this too!" But I'd already paid, so I had to make another purchase, and as I was waiting, I decided to go ahead and get one for my brother too. Then I left the store, but I kept thinking how maybe another one for my baby nephew would be cool too. So I went back to the store to get another. Then I realized that I couldn't get the same gift for my dad, brother, and both nephews, but not my mom and sister-in-law (the only other two people who will actually be with me on Christmas morning), so I went ahead bought some for them too! So, all in all, I bought SIX of the same present, in THREE separate purchases! Well, I thought it was funny.
Funny story about this year's Christmas shopping...in the interest of not revealing people's gifts prior to Christmas day, I'll keep this vague. So, I was in a shop, buying a gift for my dad, and as I was checking out, I thought, "Hmm, I bet Dustin (my nephew) would like this too!" But I'd already paid, so I had to make another purchase, and as I was waiting, I decided to go ahead and get one for my brother too. Then I left the store, but I kept thinking how maybe another one for my baby nephew would be cool too. So I went back to the store to get another. Then I realized that I couldn't get the same gift for my dad, brother, and both nephews, but not my mom and sister-in-law (the only other two people who will actually be with me on Christmas morning), so I went ahead bought some for them too! So, all in all, I bought SIX of the same present, in THREE separate purchases! Well, I thought it was funny.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Journal Your Christmas Day 5
I've pretty much given up on making this an "art" journal - it's just gonna have to be a written journal. I'll have to travel to Maine for my grandfather's funeral Thursday through Sunday, and I can't really bring all my supplies with me! Maybe the following week I'll get some pages put together.
Today's prompt was about advent calendars - counting down the days until Christmas. Now, advent calendars have always been a bit of a sore spot for me - being the youngest child, I always had to reuse old advent calendars that my brother and sister had already opened in years past. A few years ago, my aunt Judy sent me a brand new advent calendar, the kind with the little chocolates in it, and it was the best present ever! I really like the tradition, but I don't feel like I need an advent calendar to enjoy the countdown. Other things mark the passage of time for me - the appearance of Christmas lights on my neighbors' houses, the cashiers at the grocery store starting to say "Happy Holidays!" as I leave, the increasing frequency of Christmas songs being played on the radio, the first viewing of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
Today's prompt was about advent calendars - counting down the days until Christmas. Now, advent calendars have always been a bit of a sore spot for me - being the youngest child, I always had to reuse old advent calendars that my brother and sister had already opened in years past. A few years ago, my aunt Judy sent me a brand new advent calendar, the kind with the little chocolates in it, and it was the best present ever! I really like the tradition, but I don't feel like I need an advent calendar to enjoy the countdown. Other things mark the passage of time for me - the appearance of Christmas lights on my neighbors' houses, the cashiers at the grocery store starting to say "Happy Holidays!" as I leave, the increasing frequency of Christmas songs being played on the radio, the first viewing of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
Journal Your Christmas Day 4
I missed writing yesterday's journal entry because my grandfather died, and writing about my vision of a "perfect" Christmas was frankly not appealing. While I am trying to keep in mind that he would not want our whole family to just suddenly stop celebrating the Christmas season to mourn him, it is feeling a little bittersweet. In honor of Grampy's love of big band and the classic crooners, I am listening to Mr. Frank Sinatra's "Let It Snow". I think much of my idea of the perfect Christmas is very much wrapped up in the music - having the perfect "soundtrack" for the festivities. Jazzy classics like Ella Fitzgerald's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (currently my ringtone!) and Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" are among my favorites. I also love Garth Brooks' Christmas songs (and I'm NOT a country fan!) and pretty much everything on the Ray Charles Christmas CD I bought last year. I love the classical Christmas music too - carols like Silent Night and O Holy Night, the Nutcracker, the religious cantatas, etc. My perfect Christmas involves a lot of hanging out quietly by the Christmas tree, in the glow of the lights, eating Christmas cookies, and listening to my favorite Christmas songs. The quiet moment after coming home from my aunt Cindy's annual Christmas Eve party, knowing that all the shopping and wrapping and baking is all over, just enjoying the anticipation of the next morning. I feel pretty lucky in that the most perfect Christmas I can imagine is something that I am able to experience each year - I don't have any extravagant expectations of perfectly decorated homes or heaps of expensive gifts. Not that there's anything wrong with that! I just look forward most to those elusive moments where you feel both at peace with the world and filled with anticipation.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Journal Your Christmas Day 3
I didn't have time to work on my art journal today - I went skiing AND finished about half of my Christmas shopping! Hopefully tomorrow after work I will be able to sit down and do a little artsy stuff...I'm trying to at least keep up with journaling on my blog! Luckily, today's prompt isn't one that I have a ton to write about. It's about Christmas cards - making them, receving them, etc. I haven't received a single Christmas yet this year! I don't usually get very many - it seems like mostly people with kids who send Christmas cards, and I have very few friends that have kids yet. I still tend to get cards addressed to my parents and me (mailed to their house in Maine), not sent specifically to me. Kinda sad, I'd love to get more cards! I like making my own cards and have done so the past two years - but I'm not feeling that inspired to do so this year, strangely! Almost everyone that I would send a card to, I'll see in person this Christmas. And I think I'm just more excited about spending what little creative time I have on this art journal.
I'll have to upload my recent pictures soon - I got some great ones of my niece Maddie and her friend Bernie while we were skiing at Eldora today! It was so much fun - we were skiing pretty easy terrain, so I took my camera out and skied down below the girls and then turned around and photographed them uphill while skiing to get some action shots!
I'll have to upload my recent pictures soon - I got some great ones of my niece Maddie and her friend Bernie while we were skiing at Eldora today! It was so much fun - we were skiing pretty easy terrain, so I took my camera out and skied down below the girls and then turned around and photographed them uphill while skiing to get some action shots!
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Journal Your Christmas Day 2
Okay, still haven't completed any physical pages for my Christmas art journal. Got started on a cover page and a page for Day 1's writing, but haven't yet copied down my blog entry from yesterday. Hopefully my Two Peas order with the album and a bunch of fun Christmas papers will be here on Monday! Today's prompt was about Christmas weather and included instructions to make paper snowflakes, and I played around with that a bit, but I had to interrupt myself and go Christmas shopping!
So, anyways, my thoughts on Christmas weather...I am a Mainer through and through, despite my current address in Boulder, so I definitely expect and desire a white Christmas each year. It doesn't feel like Christmas if it's brown and muddy out. Bitterly cold weather is not required, but part of me thinks that the cold really helps me better appreciate the warmth of hot chocolate and Christmassy fireplaces and ducking into a warm little boutique to escape the cold for a moment! Plus, I love snuggling my face into a scarf and pulling a hat low onto my forehead. It's certainly been white and cold enough to get me in the Christmas spirit this week - we've had about a foot of new snow this week! I think the perfect Christmas weather is cold enough to keep the snow on the ground but not so cold that you can't take a brisk walk around to admire the Christmas decorations and lights!
I watched Love Actually today - forgot how much I love that movie. "I feel it in my fingers...I feel it in my toes...Christmas is all around me, come on and let it snow." I also watched that old claymation Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with my 6-year-old niece Livy! Good times. My mom sent me a Christmas wreath-scented Yankee Candle that I am smelling right now (I almost said "listening to"!)... And in non-Christmas related news, Tenacious D rocks! And I am going skiing tomorrow!
So, anyways, my thoughts on Christmas weather...I am a Mainer through and through, despite my current address in Boulder, so I definitely expect and desire a white Christmas each year. It doesn't feel like Christmas if it's brown and muddy out. Bitterly cold weather is not required, but part of me thinks that the cold really helps me better appreciate the warmth of hot chocolate and Christmassy fireplaces and ducking into a warm little boutique to escape the cold for a moment! Plus, I love snuggling my face into a scarf and pulling a hat low onto my forehead. It's certainly been white and cold enough to get me in the Christmas spirit this week - we've had about a foot of new snow this week! I think the perfect Christmas weather is cold enough to keep the snow on the ground but not so cold that you can't take a brisk walk around to admire the Christmas decorations and lights!
I watched Love Actually today - forgot how much I love that movie. "I feel it in my fingers...I feel it in my toes...Christmas is all around me, come on and let it snow." I also watched that old claymation Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with my 6-year-old niece Livy! Good times. My mom sent me a Christmas wreath-scented Yankee Candle that I am smelling right now (I almost said "listening to"!)... And in non-Christmas related news, Tenacious D rocks! And I am going skiing tomorrow!
Friday, December 01, 2006
Journal Your Christmas Day 1
So, I am taking an online art journal class from a British artist named Shimelle Laine - it's something that I've been reading about for a while on the various artsy blogs that I read, and I'm really excited about this new creative endeavour! It's all about "journaling your Christmas". Shimelle provides a new prompt each day for the whole month of December. I would love to actually create a new page in an art journal/scrapbook for each day's prompts, but it's such a busy time and my realistic goal is to write a journal entry in my blog each day, and incorporate the best parts of my writing into collage/scrapbook pages in my Christmas art journal. I hardly ever journal in my scrapbooks, something I'd definitely like to remedy.
I like to think of this class as my Christmas gift to myself - along with my super-cool new Cherry Chocolate music phone that I got today!! The month of December is always crazy for me, trying to finish up all kinds of work projects by the end of the year, Christmas shopping, wrapping, preparing for the annual trip home to Maine, etc., and I always end up feeling like the season flies by without much chance for introspection and appreciation. I'm hoping that by keeping this art journal, I will remember to slow down each day and reflect on what I love about this season.
So, today was the first day of December. It looked like the first day of December. We got about 12 inches of snow on Tuesday night, and it's been so bitterly cold that it's barely melted (unusual here - snow usually melts within two days). The city is completely decorated for Christmas - the big lighted star on the hillside is lit, all the trees lining the downtown streets are all beautifully lit with white lights (and I'm a sucker for trees with white lights), and the ice rink at One Boulder Plaza is freshly Zambonied. The roads have been too icy to ride my bike to work, so I've been walking each day. It's been a nice change of routine - I like walking down Pearl Street and seeing all the Christmassy window displays. I always want to stop and buy beautiful Christmas ornaments, but it doesn't make sense to buy ornaments when I have no plans to have a Christmas tree of my own. (I am leaving for my family's place in Maine on December 17th, we'll have a tree there.)
Well, that's all my Christmas journaling for today. In non-Christmas news, I had lunch with my sister today AND I had dinner at Sherpa's with my friend Nicole and Cam and their little boy Ethan tonight. Two meals out in one day! Tomorrow I'm definitely going to need to start Christmas shopping - I already bought wrapping paper and ribbons and stuff like that, but haven't bought a single actual present yet.
I like to think of this class as my Christmas gift to myself - along with my super-cool new Cherry Chocolate music phone that I got today!! The month of December is always crazy for me, trying to finish up all kinds of work projects by the end of the year, Christmas shopping, wrapping, preparing for the annual trip home to Maine, etc., and I always end up feeling like the season flies by without much chance for introspection and appreciation. I'm hoping that by keeping this art journal, I will remember to slow down each day and reflect on what I love about this season.
So, today was the first day of December. It looked like the first day of December. We got about 12 inches of snow on Tuesday night, and it's been so bitterly cold that it's barely melted (unusual here - snow usually melts within two days). The city is completely decorated for Christmas - the big lighted star on the hillside is lit, all the trees lining the downtown streets are all beautifully lit with white lights (and I'm a sucker for trees with white lights), and the ice rink at One Boulder Plaza is freshly Zambonied. The roads have been too icy to ride my bike to work, so I've been walking each day. It's been a nice change of routine - I like walking down Pearl Street and seeing all the Christmassy window displays. I always want to stop and buy beautiful Christmas ornaments, but it doesn't make sense to buy ornaments when I have no plans to have a Christmas tree of my own. (I am leaving for my family's place in Maine on December 17th, we'll have a tree there.)
Well, that's all my Christmas journaling for today. In non-Christmas news, I had lunch with my sister today AND I had dinner at Sherpa's with my friend Nicole and Cam and their little boy Ethan tonight. Two meals out in one day! Tomorrow I'm definitely going to need to start Christmas shopping - I already bought wrapping paper and ribbons and stuff like that, but haven't bought a single actual present yet.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Thankful
We had an awesome Thanksgiving dinner at Julie and Chris's house on Thursday. Some highlights included:
Fenway and Bosco (Mara and Frank's new Boston Terrier) had a great time playing together. Livy is an excellent dog trainer.
Chris cooked a delicious bird, while most of us just relaxed and played with the dogs.
During dinner, we all said what/who we were thankful for. I was #1 on Livy's list!!
Fenway and Bosco (Mara and Frank's new Boston Terrier) had a great time playing together. Livy is an excellent dog trainer.
Chris cooked a delicious bird, while most of us just relaxed and played with the dogs.
During dinner, we all said what/who we were thankful for. I was #1 on Livy's list!!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Memoirs of a "So-Boulder" Life
So, I was riding my bike through Boulder on my way home from work today, and I stopped at a red light next to a car. An older gentleman on a bicycle glides up to me, smiles, and gestures at the car on the other side of me. "They don't know what they're missing, do they?" I smiled back and said, "No, they don't." We stood there, side by side, rosy cheeks, breath forming in the cold air, until the light turned and we sailed through the intersection.
SO BOULDER.
A year ago, I would have been one of the schmucks driving less than a mile to work each day (which actually takes longer than riding on the bike path). I would have been the one not knowing I'm missing!
SO BOULDER.
A year ago, I would have been one of the schmucks driving less than a mile to work each day (which actually takes longer than riding on the bike path). I would have been the one not knowing I'm missing!
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Random Thoughts on Books, Snow, Christmas, Music, Etc.
Okay, haven't been blogging much...lots on my mind.
1. I've been reading a lot lately. Just finished Born Again by my Bowdoin classmate Kelly Kerney - a really amazing first novel! It's all about a Born Again teenager who has to read the verboten Darwin's Origin of Species for an honors class, and the book details her evolution (get it? evolution.) into a more critically thinking young adult. Pretty special, and no, not in a stop-eating-the-paste kinda way. I also just finished Moneyball (just google it, I'm too tired to put in the link) and it is incredible as well. It's the kind of book I'D like to write - a nonfiction book written with the style and pace of a novel. I highly recommend both of them, to you, my three loyal readers.
2. It's been snowing a lot in the mountains. I'm getting excited for skiing! Eldora opens on Friday, that's where I've got my pass. Maybe I'll go Saturday, but I'm guessing it might be packed. I was thinking I might go on Thanksgiving morning, when everyone else is cooking! By the way, how the HECK is Thanksgiving next week?!? I swear it was the 4th of July yesterday.
3. Speaking of Thanksgiving, is it Christmas yet? I'm looking forward to Christmas...decorations...cookies...but most of all, the music. Can't wait to pull out my Ray Charles Christmas CD. But I am controlling myself, not until after Thanksgiving!
4. I am OBSESSED with that Put Your Records On song by Corinne Bailey Rae, ever since I saw her on SNL!! It was on the radio when I turned on my car this morning, which is how I knew it was going to be a good day.
Okay, I think that's all. Enjoy my random hodgepodge of thoughts.
1. I've been reading a lot lately. Just finished Born Again by my Bowdoin classmate Kelly Kerney - a really amazing first novel! It's all about a Born Again teenager who has to read the verboten Darwin's Origin of Species for an honors class, and the book details her evolution (get it? evolution.) into a more critically thinking young adult. Pretty special, and no, not in a stop-eating-the-paste kinda way. I also just finished Moneyball (just google it, I'm too tired to put in the link) and it is incredible as well. It's the kind of book I'D like to write - a nonfiction book written with the style and pace of a novel. I highly recommend both of them, to you, my three loyal readers.
2. It's been snowing a lot in the mountains. I'm getting excited for skiing! Eldora opens on Friday, that's where I've got my pass. Maybe I'll go Saturday, but I'm guessing it might be packed. I was thinking I might go on Thanksgiving morning, when everyone else is cooking! By the way, how the HECK is Thanksgiving next week?!? I swear it was the 4th of July yesterday.
3. Speaking of Thanksgiving, is it Christmas yet? I'm looking forward to Christmas...decorations...cookies...but most of all, the music. Can't wait to pull out my Ray Charles Christmas CD. But I am controlling myself, not until after Thanksgiving!
4. I am OBSESSED with that Put Your Records On song by Corinne Bailey Rae, ever since I saw her on SNL!! It was on the radio when I turned on my car this morning, which is how I knew it was going to be a good day.
Okay, I think that's all. Enjoy my random hodgepodge of thoughts.
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