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8 Years

8 years ago, I put on a white dress made to my specifications – “It should look like a t’shirt and a skirt” – and a pair of Birkenstock sandals (also white) and on the arm of my handsome father, walked up a hill and down an aisle to meet my charming soon-to-be husband. It was a sweet ceremony. During the ceremony, our officiant, Father Frank, asked the guests to raise their hands over us in blessing. And blessed we have been.

Almost 3000 days later, I still love and even LIKE the goofy guy I married. We have our little squabbles, but I can always count on him to love me and call me on my BS. And I am happy to do the same in return for him. We make a really awesome team and it is fun to look back over the years and see how much our life has changed and how much we’ve changed. I adore the two little people we’ve brought into the world and find them such an amazing outcome of the love Matt and I have for each other. I am pleased that we can give our kids the gift of parents that love each other and are a united front. I am happy that we share many interests and I will never be bored growing old with Matt.

Happy 8 Years, Mr. Nichols … and here’s to many many more!

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Date Your Mate #3: Super Paper Mario

This week we had no work date. We were traveling on Thursday which killed one of our nights. So pursuant to article 2 of our date night contract, we nixxed the “work date” and just had our “fun date.”

Since Blitzen, we've been sans video game systems while our insurance company got around to sending us checks and replacing things, almost two months. We really don't play many video games (time!), but we had actually started missing them. So for this date, we finally cracked open Super Paper Mario and got it started.

We had to laugh at the complex story they tried to put into the mix. Really, it's the same old story: monster steals princess, Italian American brothers go on adventure to rescue princess and have to jump on lots of bad guys. We had to get the a lot of exposition (blah blah blah) to get to the actual game, but once we did, we both really liked it. You are a 2D character that can, at will, switch into 3D mode … it sounds bizarre, but the effect is really cool and adds a lot to gameplay. We took turns playing levels. Matt is definitely better at the actual moving of the character, etc. and I am good about figuring out little tricks.

We've both been itching to get back to it since we played! I think that's the sign of a success.

Unfortunately, there are no photos from the date since the card from our camera was sitting on my desk at the office (oops!). I swear I'm going to do better this week.

For more great dates, check out Simply Modern Mom's 52 Dates Project.

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At Elevation

 


We escaped some of the city’s heat and went to Vail for the weekend. We left, as we almost always do, on Thursday night and enjoyed three lovely days in the mountains.

 

We had a lot of fun, including: throwing rocks in the creek, celebrating my dad’s birthday, playing in the children’s fountain, making a hot mess of a cake, cooking as a family, playing games, riding bikes, going for a run, watching movies, sleeping in and, of course, taking photos.

We are all exhausted and glad to be home … and not quite ready to be back either.

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What's Cooking: Volume 15

I am kind of a cookbook junkie. I just love the things. It is super hard for me to resist the ones with pretty glossy pictures of food, or even better, people, places, ingredients and finished food. But some of my most favorite cookbooks, Moosewood for example, are relatively photo-free. I could probably cook a new recipe out of my cookbook collection for breakfast lunch and dinner for a whole year. And the sad part is, I get most of the new recipes I try from the internet or Everyday Food. I really need to stop buying them, but I cannot help myself.

Most recently, I tried a stuffed potato recipe from Mollie Katzen's (of Moosewood fame) Get Cooking! It is a really nice book and it would make a great gift for someone just getting started in their culinary life. I picked it up from the library and I was impressed by the simple, yet wholesome and yummy food she puts forth for beginners. The stuffed potato recipe was basic, yet something I might not have otherwise thought to cook. You bake potatoes, hollow them out, mash up their innards, combine the mashed potatoes with lovely things (sour cream, onions, chives, broccoli, spinach, cheese etc. etc.) and put them back in the oven to heat up (maybe with a little cheese, bacon, etc. on top). Add a salad, and it's dinner or lunch or whatever. We made up about 8 potatoes worth and Matt and I have been enjoying them for lunch all week. Of course I eat them with a salad and he eats them with hotdogs. And that, probably, is the fundamental difference in us. ☺

Aside from that recipe, I have not tried much of anything new. We've been going with the old standbys: fish tacos, stirfry, macaroni and cheese (from scratch AND from a box, both), salmon with dijoinaisse and parmesan. I made some excellent veggies a couple of weeks ago: summer squash and red peppers, with just a teeny bit of butter, garlic salt and pepper. They were excellent and even Tabby ate them.

I am hosting Bunco in Sept or Oct and I need to figure out what to serve. Right now I'm thinking of stuffed potatoes and maybe soup – I could do a turkey chili or a yummy lentil – and maybe a salad. Then the apple spice cake for dessert. That seems like a good meal, right?? Most importantly, it can be made ahead, except for the salad.

So … what is everyone else cooking?

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Summer Bucket

Dang it's been a great summer. We've been super busy. And you all know my love/hate relationship with busy. But every time I think about our crazy schedule, I don't want to give anything up, so busy it is. We've done a lot of great things this summer.

An Update to my list:
• Get in a few NEW hikes. Beaver Brook Trail 6/25, Castlewood Canyon (July sometime), Keyser Wilderness 8/1
• Take the kids to Berry Patch Farms.
• Take Tabby to Film on the Rocks (I'm thinking Princess Bride!). Done!
• Make homemade ice cream.
• Cook pizza on the grill.
• Take a bike trip to the library (with picnic).
• Run a race I haven't run before . Bolder Boulder 5/31, Apex Father's Day 5K 6/19 and soon to come: Heart and Sole 10K 8/22, Skirt Chaser 5K 8/28 and Disneyland Half 9/5
• Actually make it to the neighborhood pool (harder than it sounds). Done!
• Take the kids to The Splash or another water park.
• Go camping with my dad. Done!
• Take a day off, without the kids, somewhat for organizing, mostly for RELAXING. Done … Happy birthday to me!
• Visit the Paris Street Markets again. Done!

Not much summer left … but we've wrung a lot of fun out of this one!

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Date Your Mate #2: Candlelight Dessert and Garage Cleanup

Our second week of dates was a decided success. For our “Fun Date” I poured a couple of glasses of wine, set aside a couple of squares of dessert (chocolate peanut butter pie) and lit a couple of candles. We took them out on the patio to enjoy one of the perfect summer nights Coloradans are blessed with. We drank our wine (maybe more than one glass), ate our dessert, held hands and talked.

I always love being able to have an actual conversation with Matt where no one is interrupting … it’s always a treat. I don’t know what we talked about, or how long we were out there, but we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

For our “work date” we re-organized our shelves in the garage. Matt had been wanting to tackle that particular project for a while and I don’t know why I’d been resisting (time, probably!) … I actually LIKE to organize, sick as that is. It is always cathartic to me to cull through boxes, get rid of stuff we don’t need and beautify a space. I love turning 5 boxes in to 3 or 2. The end-result of our organizing project is a much cleaner feeling garage. It still needs a bit of fine-tuning, but the vast majority is done.

More dates to see on Simply Modern Mom’s 52 Date Nights Project.

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Weekend Wrap-Up: Spoiled Rotten

This weekend definitely goes down in the history books as a really great one, despite some hiccups. The highlights (and some lowlights):

• went shopping with the kids, my mom and my cousins on Friday … got some cute stuff at Old Navy, including some new running pants WITH pockets. Also, am finally a size smaller, even in pants. ‘Bout damn time.
• We were supposed to go see Despicable Me with my cousins, but Tabby was running a fever and about the 10th degree of WRECKED. So we went home. Matt and I got to put the kids to bed and veg out at our computers.
• Saturday Tabby was right as rain (gotta love kids), just a little tired.
• We went to the Paris Street Market. We didn’t buy anything, but we sure had fun looking. I saw some cute kids shirts, but could not justify almost $30 for t’shirts. Sorry. Also saw an AWESOME retro kitchen set in RED. Would totally have bought it (just $200), but I really don’t have a spot for it. Boohoo!
• After the market, we went to a b’day party for our friends’ son who is just a bit younger than Ben. She is a crafty-whiz and it was a great party!!
• After naps, my family came over and we celebrated my b’day. I requested fried chicken, squash casserole, green beans, corn on the cob, etc. A perfect summer meal … my sista also made me confetti cupcakes. Yum.
• I got awesome presents, including a GPS watch, great purse, camera bag, necklace, and Popsicle maker.
• We also sang a buncha Karaoke.
• Sunday morning we did our normal trip to the gym.
• Followed by errands.
• After lunch and naps, we went on a loong bike ride with my sister and the kids.
• So long that we ran way into dinner time and ended up picking up Arbys on the way home (I later regretted this as my body is not used to such crap).

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Mama’s Day Off

I asked Matt and the kids not to get me anything and instead, I gave myself a few b’day presents. I bought some stuff off Etsy (a vintage pickle jar, some headbands for running and some cloth napkins) and some new PJs at Target. But the biggest gift I gave myself was a day off.

It was oddly hard to get over the guilt of 8+ hours of uninterrupted “me time.” I felt bad about sending the kids off to our sitter while I played, but then I reasoned with myself that I hang with them every Friday, so I got over it.

It was a very nice, super relaxing day. I got up at my normal early hour and instead of beating it to work on the double, I drove up to a trailhead and had a 10 mile run. It was very nice not to have the clock hanging over my head. It was a new trail, beautiful and wonderful weather. I even saw two blue herrings in a tree on my way back.

When I got home I skipped the shower and jumped right into a craft project. I wanted to use my new Silhouette to make a couple of things … I made two, one turned out. The gals at HowDoesShe? are always making cute signs out of decoupaged 2x4s. Since our neighborhood is a magnet for door-to-door salespeople, I’ve wanted a no soliciting sign for a long time. My awesome Aunt Peggy has had a sign that reads “No offense, but no solicitors, religious or otherwise.” on her door for as long as I can remember and so I fashioned my own version. It was a lot of fun. It still needs to be hung up though.

After crafty time, I had lunch with my sweetie. Then I finally had a shower and settled in to listen to my audio book for a while and play some solitaire. I think I napped for a while and maybe goofed around on the internet.

It all went by very very fast. I had a great time, but I was happy to see my kiddos … and Matt too.

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The Big 3-oh!

 

jess@30
Today, I turn 30. I cannot say I really have any sort of anxiety or ennui about being this fairly large round number of years old. I am happy and contented. Sure, there are small things about myself and my life that I might alter given a magic wand or a wad of cash, but overall, I am supremely happy and extremely blessed. My days, if very busy, are a pleasure. I love kissing Matt goodbye, peeking in on my sleeping kids, going to a rewarding job and coming home to enjoy the rest of the day with my family, friends and outside interests.

 

My only pause comes from the realization that it was 10 (?!?!?) years ago that I turned 20. The decade has absolutely flown by. Two last years of college, our wedding, two years in Madison, six in Denver during which we bought a house, lost a dog, adopted a dog, and had two children. Ten years ago, Matt and I counted five grandparents between us. Today we have just one. A decade brings about big changes.

But after I reflect all that has happened in that amount of time, it seems more slow and steady. And I wouldn’t change a thing. It all got me right here where I am very happy to be … even if I am (*gulp*) thirty.