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This Crazy Life

What’s going on, you ask?

  • We are headed camping this weekend. We reserved last minute so all we could get was the “group” site which holds up to 75 people (and 15 vehicles). Three families are going so it’s not toooo ridiculous. I’m calling it The Jamboree. I can’t wait. But of course this makes lots of work … to get ready for camping … again. The kids are beyond thrilled and not just because I got them new buckets and bug catchers.
  • My darling over-achieving husband added to our workload yesterday by getting MORE bedding plants at the nursery. He was there to get tomatoes and came home with a bunch more flowers to add to the beds. I was a bit peeved because remember how I hate gardening? Still do.
  • We braised a pork shoulder in Dr. Pepper last night … oh. my. word. We were supposed to take it camping with us but we underestimated how much it would cook down. Unfortunately we were left with about a cup of insanely tasty pulled pork and that will feed … maybe the kids? Maybe me? Not all of us though. Plan B. Costco also has pulled pork.
  • Speaking of cooking, you have probably noticed that the Cookbook Challenge has fallen by the way side. I had fun with it at first but then it got to be a chore, so I chucked it. I have enough chores. I’ll share a recipe when I really really love it. The end.
  • We found a piece of land we’re very interested in. There are about 15 hurdles (big ones) we have to jump through  and very few of them come with guarantees, but we’re very seriously looking into it.
  • I have been pretty slacky on the whole being healthy thing, but I had a serious talk with myself and decided I would correct this. It is actually going pretty well and I’m pleased with myself. Of course this is only Day 3.
  • Relatedly, I am really enjoying running right now. I’ve been chilling more about mileage and just focusing on having good enjoyable runs. Matt and I did a great session at Table Mountain on Saturday. I want to get out to more trails. I love the scenery and the peace.
  • Tabby is doing a photoshoot with some friends on Friday for an outdoors gear company. They will apparently be some sort of team and may appear on a box. The important part (to Tabby) is that they get cash for their efforts. The kid is big on saving money and this thrills her to the core.
  • Ben has a nasty abrasion on his face. He tripped and fell face first this weekend while running … on the side walk. He has been wearing a bandaid over it all week. It looks pretty cute and quite rakish on him. They do feel fast though!
  • I am behind on so many things and trying to get my act together. Work is pure madness right now. I have two very big projects I’m tackling right now and things are falling through the cracks at home as my work hours go longer and it follows me home.
  • I am very much looking forward to a few minutes of peace tonight when I get my hair cut.
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San Fran Days 2 and 3 – Maker Faire

Before I get down to telling you all about Maker Faire, another reminder to enter The Giveaway to Uncommon Goods for $50 towards any of the great things they have to offer.

Now now now, on to Maker Faire. The fair organizers, Make Magazine, bill it as The Greatest Show and Tell on Earth. And that’s a pretty good description. Everywhere you look you see AMAZING things that people have built.

This incredible invention, The Ragtime Castaway Band, welcomed everyone to the fair (did I mention we were there at opening both mornings, waiting on the countdown? yea. we were) with its music. It is a robotic band contained in a hut. All the instruments you see above hang form the ceiling of the hut. There are a few other instruments surrounding the edges on the ground. They are all controlled robotically and they play some really fine music. Just in case you were wondering, the first tune of the morning was the Original Star Trek Theme. Very appropriately nerdy. Continue reading “San Fran Days 2 and 3 – Maker Faire”

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San Fran Day 1

So before I get started on our CA adventures, I wanted to remind you to check out the Giveaway I’m holding sponsored by Uncommon Goods. There’s a $50 Gift Certificate up for grabs, so it’s well worth your time to put in an entry!

So last Thursday we headed for the Left Coast. Matt has been wanting attend a Maker Faire since the first one 5 years ago and finally we were able to get to the right city at the right time and do the Maker Faire thing (and I will tell you all about that tomorrow). After a nice flight in, we grabbed a late dinner and headed to our hotel. Everyone was exhausted, but of course the kids were up early the next morning. We grabbed some snacks at Trader Joe’s – the hotel was right across the street from one (yay!) and headed into the city. Continue reading “San Fran Day 1”

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The Dunes

We have made 3 trips to Great Sand Dunes in the past 5 years and man … it NEVER disappoints. The awe of a giant pile of sand in the middle of the Colorado mountains? Always breathtaking. Always incredible and always SO SO fun! This go-around we went with some great friends for our first camping trip together and had a wonderful time.

We left Thursday after work. We got going late. Our progress was slow. VERY slow. Stops, delays, whining. And then we got there finally at 2 AM and the loop we were expecting to be open, expecting to be able to camp in was CLOSED. Seriously??? So we went to another loop which was for groups only and had no pop ups or RVs allowed and it was clear that we weren’t the only ones flummoxed by the turn of events. Tons of people were camping here there and everywhere, so we joined the fun, parked the 4 Runner and the popup across a few parking spots and half-popped the camper. We didn’t unhitch it and just got it up enough to pop out one bed and stuck everyone in that one bed and passed out. Really it wasn’t half bad. The next morning we found out that it was all a mistake and our loop was supposed to be opened. Continue reading “The Dunes”

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Gone Camping

Before I say anything else, I just want to point out the amazing image on the right. I bought it from a very talented artist on Etsy and it now hangs in my powder room along with the print my mom got me on my last b’day – there’s a theme, in case you were wondering.

Anyhoo, we are heading off on our first camping trip of the year so I have been going all manic on my packing list and Matt’s been getting our pop-up ready. Our water pump is busted and we (Matt) have to replace it. The first camping trip is all about getting things ready and the last is all about putting them away. The ones in the middle are the easiest, but I will consider us lucky if we get four (five?) trips in this year so it’s a kind of labor-intensive proposition. Totally worth it though!!

Tonight we are doing the final packing (a bag per person, all the food, etc.) and then tomorrow after ballet, we are heading out. SQUEE!! We are going back to the Sand Dunes with some good friends and I cannot wait. We are hoping the little river in front of the dunes will be running. It turns the dunes into a fun beachy sort of experience. And we’re also hoping some of the back-country 4×4 trails will be open. They had a big forest fire last year and were filled with impassable ashes. But they are supposed to be amazing and scenic and I’d love to check them out.

Best of all, we found out last year that Loki is welcome at the park, so he will be joining us. That is going to be one happy dog.

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Linger

After a year or more of almost strictly working (or staying in) on our date nights, Matt and I have resolved to get out and check out our city this year … particularly the restaurants. Last month we tried Osteria Marco (which I never wrote about, but I should, really, because it was great! – well I guess we’ll just have to go back!) and this month as we were looking for some new places to try, I happened upon an article in our local Hipster paper, Westword, listing the 10 best new restaurants of 2011. We looked through a few and Linger appealed to us the most – the concept is simple, small plates of street food from around the globe. Ummm … SOLD!

So we got on their site and tried for reservations. We were not successful. So we called and were told and luckily they thought they could squeeze us in at 5:30, but we’d have to relinquish our table promptly at 6:45. Yes, in a funny ironic twist, we were not going to be allowed to linger at Linger. Oh well. We decided to take the reservations since we didn’t know when we’d have another free night in the near future. Turns out reservations are quite hard to come by and we majorly lucked out!!

The restaurant is housed in the old Olinger Mortuary buildling. Hey … brain storm. That is probably where the name comes from. Duh, Jess. There are a few other tenants as well, but Linger got the most and arguably the best of it. It’s situated in a neighborhood that’s sort of NE of true downtown Denver and a bit up the hill and has a pretty great view of the city.

Continue reading “Linger”

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Vail Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a very nice weekend in the mountains. The weather was not cooperating with us and we didn’t have very much or very good snow to ski on, but in some ways that was better. We got to have lots of down time and fun hanging with our friends. We took lots of walks  and went on the great playground tour of Vail.

Sure it was still icy and wet and icky, but it was great for the kid to get out and have lots of fresh air. Our friends’ baby is 18 months old and the kids loved having a little buddy to pal around with. He is a darling little guy and so good! Matt and I got to relive some of the kids younger days while we watched him – and we loved every minute of it.

We saw some cool things while around town. Dogs, other kids, lots of buses and my personal favorite, a full-sized Volvo SUV made from Legos. IT.WAS.AWESOME.

The last day we went for a ride on the gondola to the top of the hill. It’s always a beautiful view and a fun ride. Unfortunately we timed it a bit late and we couldn’t hang around at the top of the mountain for long since the last ride down was about 5 minutes from when we got to the top, but it was getting colder anyhow so we headed down.

We mostly ate at home, but we went out to dinner a couple of times. It’s always dicey taking little kids to nicer restaurants, but we had a good time and the kids behaved themselves beautifully.

All too soon our fun had to come to an end. A snowstorm moved in on Sunday night and my parents and sister who had left earlier that evening had a nasty drive down. We had a few more drinks and nice conversation and bid our guests adieu. Luckily by the morning things were much improved and we drove down in relatively dry conditions.

Now we’re putting everything away and getting ready for the (short – yay!) week.

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Having a Rest … Sort Of

We are away in Vail for a long weekend. Our good friends from college are in town for a few days and we are making the most of what’s left of the snow with some very spring-like skiing. We are spending the rest of our time playing with the babies, chatting, watching movies and eating good food.

Overall it is very relaxing, aside from the sore muscles and small amounts of work we all seem to have brought with us. 😉 Ahh to be a kid again when your biggest worry was how hungover you might be the next morning.

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The HAPS

As usual, it’s our own version of semi-organized chaos over here. Just a sampling of what we’ve been up to:

  • We’re busily planning our summer camping trips. Sites book up FAST. We’ve already got two trips planned, one to Sand Dunes in May and one to Rocky Mountain National Park in June. Add to that our trip to FL in May, two other camping trips we want to take, weekend trips to Vail, and a possible 10th anniversary trip and I’m pretty sure we’re going to spend half of the summer away from home. So what else is new?
  • Matt took Tabby to the store with him on Saturday to pick up some groceries. She spied a coconut and wanted to try it, so he bought it for her. He used a corkscrew to drill a hole in it and then she sampled the milk through a straw. She wasn’t a huge fan. Next they will do something with the flesh. For now it’s sitting on the counter.
  • I ran a 10 mile race on Saturday. It was very hilly which is unusual for me since I run mostly on the treadmill or a few tried and true outdoor spots, and I hit it HARD. My body hurt pretty much the rest of the weekend and I had to take naps and go to bed early. Good wake up call for my half marathon in April.
  • Most of our Nashville family (Matt’s stepmom, brother, sister, brother-in-law, and niece) are arriving on Thursday. I’m super excited to meet my niece, now 3 months old!! And it will be good to see everyone else too. We have some fun plans including, of course, skiing. Continue reading “The HAPS”
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Ran out of Weekend

Well I may have run out of weekend before I ran out of things to do, but I cannot complain. It was a great weekend filled with

  • super cute kids that amused the heck out of me
  • good news dental checkups!
  • Pork Ragu for dinner
  • a glorious ski day
  • a lovely meal or two out
  • Crazy Stupid Love (great movie!!)
  • excellent time spent with my family
  • a good friend’s birthday
  • Hot Chocolate Cake birthday cake
  • and some of that un-fun stuff like grocery shopping and cleaning

Tomorrow, I will be reporting back on a fun craft Tabby and I are working on for Nannette’s Pinteractive series.