more hide 'n seek

   see, she doesn't always try to peek

  fi likes to jump. alot. from high up & from far away. I couldn't get a good action shot 


   for instance, I have seen her jump from the top of the banana to the banana slice there. Only once so far. From the look on her face, I think it scared the crap out of her. But she did it & lived to tell about it.

a game of hide & seek @ the Cherry Creek Mall

Fi tries to get an advantage while Maddie hides

  

  Auntie Lindsay helps her remember how to play correctly

  Lib just wants to eat her fruit loops

  Fi's turn to hide

  Libby loves her Auntie Lindsay

  Grandma & Grandpa Jim watch from the sidelines

  Big sister helps with little sister's socks; bigger sister probably directing her to do so :P

  Finally her hair is growing back!

  Who is that pretty girl? Why, it's the soduko princess gracing us with her presence b4 she goes back to school.

I can't feel my face

or at least the left half. I had to have 3 shots of novocaine b4 my dentist could drill my built up tooth in preparation for my long awaited (12 years?) crown. I'm really grateful that I never had to have a root canal despite my procrastination. It's the only filling I ever had & it must have been a doozy b/c there isn't much tooth left. So it's 4 hours later & I still can't drink or talk correctly. Even my left eye feels "sleepy".

And then last night Madster says to me that when she grows up she would like to be dentist. Why? "Because you get to meet lots of new people & you only have to see them twice a year. And you get to use all the cool shiny silver tools". Interesting. I will say that is one profession I never ever considered when I was little. She says she would like to work at our dentist office b/c then she could "have all of the yummy toothpaste that I want AND the very delicious banana split flavored floride that I absolutely love."

Girls on the Run

So Madster completed her 5K & finished the fall program. She wasn't too happy about being "forced" to run 2x a week for training. Although yesterday she asked if she could run after school. She's definitely a stronger runner now. Here are some pics: notice Mad & her two friends at the 2 mile mark walking along & chatting (they are a clique of 4; one of the girls did not participate in the program)(more on the clique later). Oh, the running jacket I bought her to specifically wear in weather like this? MIA, hence the jeans jacket. And she slept for 4 hours when we got home. She finished at about 47 minutes (we forgot to pick up her timing chip so she wasn't listed on the event site with a finishing time) -about a 10 minute improvement from the 5K in August. All in all, I think it was a good experience for her.

I demand my mag chloride

or "what exactly is Denver's list of priorities?" or maybe "where is the money spent?". Granted Denver does not plow side streets; gotta cut costs somewhere (remember the snow storm a few years back when G couldn't get to work for 3 days b/c he couldn't get out of our street?) But wouldn't you consider Holly & Florida to be fairly busy main streets? Both were unplowed as of this morning and thick with visible ice. There was a fender bender on Florida & Dahlia as I took Madster to school. No big deal.

But you know, last night I slid trying to stop at that light. And the car behind me barely stopped in time to not rear-end me. In fact, when I heard my tires stop in the snow, I almost thought the sound was that of the car behind me tapping my fender because her headlights were nowhere visible in my rearview mirror, but were right up close to my rear fender. Yeah, probably why she drove so cautiously & far behind me after we got through the intersection. You know that feeling when all the blood rushes to your legs (or out of them?) when you have to stop suddenly or when you get pulled over? Alot of that feeling going on last night, I'm sure.

Anyway, there was an ambulance at the scene on my way back. Didn't look like an "emergency" -no flashing lights, no police, etc. Maybe 5 minutes later I hear an ambulance siren -going from the scene or maybe a totally different vehicle. G leaves for work 5 minutes after that & calls to tell me an ambulance had driven into the wooden fence at the Montessori school on the corner of Holly & Florida. hmmmmmm. I leave for the store a few minutes later w/ the girls & witness the ambulance in the fence & the car it hit. The car in front of me skids to the right & straightens out. I slide & aim for the right turn lane & finally stop. I see the car behind me start to slide & drive into the parking lot to avoid rear ending me (luckily no oncoming traffic, as she went across lanes to get to the lot.) Okay, no biggie b/c it happens all over the country at this time of year.

My point is that it probably could be avoided if the city saw fit to plow & de-ice more than just 4 or 6 lane boulevards. I'm not complaining about side streets, mind you; I just think that well-traveled main streets should be made safe for drivers (& pedestrians).

hump day

Wednesday Mind Hump

Hi everyone! Sorry about the lack of a Monday Music Mambo. Your mememeister wasn't at home to do it. Today's theme is "Customer Is Wrong Day," and Monday's was "Electric Guitar Day." Because I missed such a great opportunity for the Mambo, we'll just make today Electric Guitar Day.

1. Who is your favorite electric guitarist? Or top three, if you can't decide on one?

Jimi Hendrix, Steve Vai, Stevie Ray Vaughn (in that order)


2. Describe your dream guitar. What color is it? What brand? What special touches does it have?

If I were a guitar playing type person, it would be a shiny, glittery purple of the Gibson variety.


3. Bass guitars are electric guitars too. Who is your favorite bassist?

Billy Sheehan, Jason Newsted, Cliff Burton (not in that order)

4. Name one of your favorite electric guitar solos.

It's actually a tie b/t a Jason Newsted bass solo from the And Justice For All tour and the Cliff Burton bass solo from the Master of Puppets tour

Do ya get it yet?

PITTSBURGH FRIENDS vs. OTHER FRIENDS


OTHER FRIENDS: Never ask for food.
PITTSBURGH FRIENDS: Are the reason you have no food.

OTHER FRIENDS: Bring a bottle of wine to your party.
PITTSBURGH FRIENDS: Make the pierogies & stay to clean up afterwards.

OTHER FRIENDS: Will come to your house warming party.
PITTSBURGH FRIENDS: Will help you move.

OTHER FRIENDS: Will watch sports with you.
PITTSBURGH FRIENDS:Will take off of work for a week to drive to a Steeler away game with you.

OTHER FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.
PITTSBURGH FRIENDS: Call your parents Mom and Dad.

OTHER FRIENDS: Bail you out of jail and tell you what you did was wrong.
PITTSBURGH FRIENDS: Would be sitting next to you saying, Damn...we messed up - that was fun!

OTHER FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.
PITTSBURGH FRIENDS: Cry with you.

OTHER FRIENDS: Know a few things about you.
PITTSBURGH FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from you.

OTHER FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that's what the crowd is doing.
PITTSBURGH FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowd's butt that left you behind.

OTHER FRIENDS: Would knock on your door.
PITTSBURGH FRIENDS: Walk right in and say, "I'm home!"

OTHER FRIENDS: Will talk trash to the person who talks trash about you.
PITTSBURGH FRIENDS: Will knock them the HELL out!

OTHER FRIENDS: Are for a while.
PITTSBURGH FRIENDS: Are for life.

OTHER FRIENDS: Will ignore this.
PITTSBURGH FRIENDS: Will send it on to more Pittsburgh friends.

I was forwarded this email from 2 different friends -one still in the 'burgh & one in FL the last 22 years. Even though I've been in CO for 10 years now, I don't think it will ever be "home". I really miss my friends (friends who are family?!) and my family. Sad but true that Nikki still considers her hometown to be Pittsburgh -and she's spent more than 1/2 her life here. Joe says it's b/c we grew up together & went through so much life together that we can't find other friends like our circle. I think it's more than that. I think it's also partly to do with a shared culture of caring & welcome & acceptance. Whatever it is, I miss them like mad today & most days. (there are 2 or 3 friends I've made here who could be qualified as "honorary" Pittsburghers just for the sheer fact that they fulfill every category listed -well, maybe not the Steeler away game item and that's okay 'cuz that is definitely an acquired taste that not everyone is lucky enough to have. I cherish those folks dearly too!)

They call this a "moderate ozone" day.

Does that mean there is moderate pollution? Or there is a moderate ozone layer remaining? Denver is the new LA? You can't really tell from this picture but a little. The smog has been so bad the last few days. I first noticed it a couple months ago. It was a distinct brown cloud hanging over the city. The last couple days I've been traveling to Boulder & Broomfield so I've actually been out from under the city's bubble. It's so noticeable and noticeably odoriferous. I don't mean just a little grey-ish brown, I mean it's the color of a transluscent dark oak stain. It stretches for miles north and south (probably east & west too). And the smell is so bad & so strong that I wouldn't want to put the window down -it permeates the car's air system regardless. Makes me not want to drive. Or leave the house without some kind of face mask/breathing apparatus. It's scary & bums me out. Yeah, so we just need a big gust of wind to blow it out of here; but it'll just move on to somewhere else -like Kansas. It may dissipate, but it won't ever really go away. And yet people buy SUVs & drive one person to a car. I will say that lightrail has made a noticeable dent in rush hour traffic -on southbound I-25 (of course). Hopefully there will be a further expansion of lightrail to the north -like all the way up to Longmont, at least. Surely I'm not the only person to notice this problem?!?

Well, in comparison, Denver is LA 20 years ago 'cuz this is LA today. Yikes.

with whom can I file a complaint?

can you believe that I saw spring gardening things on the shelf yesterday at JoAnn's. Oh yes I did. Lawn gnomes & some of those cutesy wooden garden signs. ARGHHHHHHH! (and no they weren't left overs on clearance; they were new products)

And the radio station that plays continuous xmas music the day after Thanksgiving until either the day after xmas or new years eve? It's already started. It was on the radio when I came into work yesterday. I don't know how long it's been playing xmas songs. Did it just start? And why? I mean, I enjoy carols as much as the next person. I even bought a new xmas CD & played it ONE TIME. But do I need to be bombarded before the xmas season has even started? True, I can just turn the channel. I just feel like it's taking away the specialness of xmas. It's like having birthday cake for dessert all the time would make birthday cake boring. And what would you do to make your birthday different, then?

ho friggin' ho ho ho

I cannot comprehend the fact that Santa Claus sits on his throne at this very moment awaiting meandering lists from good & not so good little kiddles. But it's true. I think he's been there over a week. At the Cherry Creek Mall. Crazy, huh? It's not even Thanksgiving. Whatever happened to the excitement of Santa arriving by helicopter/firetruck/horse drawn wagon with throngs of anklebiters waiting ever so impatiently while parents try their best to entertain & distract until that breathtaking moment when the jolly fat man arrives in all his splendor. And don't forget the ensuing hours long wait to actually sit near the man to make the necessary requests & get that mandatory tasty cherry flavored lolly with the raised white imprinted xmas theme on it. That is what I remember about the day after Thanksgiving when I was growing up.

Now Santa comes unannounced. He's an afterthought, playing second fiddle to the advertisement for "Happy Feet" which disguises itself as a giant walk-through snowglobe exiting exactly to Santa's left. And the lolly? Well, no. That wouldn't be PC, now would it? They used to give out these cute little books with subliminal messages of moral etiquette; we even still have them. But surely that required the mall to shell out some money. The snowglobe is the mall's answer to rising costs & the lolly (and moral lesson book) is now a not so thinly veiled advertisement for said movie via coloring "book", primary color crayons included -both of which lasted less time and brought less joy than even a lolly would have. No, wait, I take that back. Santa did give them little snow flakes to "stick on the wall & dream about snowflakes" he said. Thanks. I really want to put something adhesive on their newly painted walls. But still. More useless plastic crap which some girl-child in China was forced to make for a few pennies a day instead of getting an education. The little gift bag they came in, however, I will re-use, to be sure.

Then there's the 8 yo who's old enough to question the whole oversized elf theory but was still pissed off that we went without her.

And the day after Thanksgiving has become this imperative "Black Friday" against which I am usually forsworn. (Although I may have to partake in order to purchase something I've had my eye on for quite some time at quite a remarkable price during the hours of 6am & noon only).

I have a week exactly to get my shopping done before the crazies hit the road. And also to make travel plans to school, work, and other time-wise appointments that will inevitably require extra minutes/quarter/half/full hours at which to arrive. That reason alone is enough to take the Merry out of Christmas.