Sunday, December 02, 2007

Holiday Party

Last night was our annual company holiday party at the Westin Hotel. We had a great time; the food tasted and looked wonderful, everyone dressed up, and the liquor flowed freely. Lots more people danced this year, and I danced with Brandon, the very cute, very young sous chef in our Cafe as well as TJ, the reluctant but sweet.

Here's to a fun holiday season!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Rally Day

Today I spent most of the day at The Tea Spot in Boulder writing. I wrote 5,568 words, earning my Rally badge and catching entirely up!

On a side note, The Tea Spot is a lovely shop, and I am throughly enjoying my new tea pot and tea leaves. The folks there are very helpful and kind, and will even rebrew green leaves. I'm just about to make myself another pot of tea. Join me?

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Birthday!

Happy Birthday to me! And to GirlZoot!

Long long long day, but happy!

We got up early to catch the balloon festival first day lift off. Mom and I are traveling with her church group, SOAR - Seniors on a Rampage. We have some very lively seniors (Mom being one of course). I got to come along because Mom's such a good convincer.

Anyway, we got up early and drove around the balloon festival three times. None of the guards or traffic directors got us through to where we needed to be. We ended up seeing most of the lift off from the bus windows. When we finally got onto Festival Grounds, Mom and I made a beeline for the field, trying to find the registration for our balloon ride (tomorrow morning).

We found a big red truck with a white trailer and a sign I recognized, Rainbow Ryders - the folks we bought our tickets from. We talked to a nice woman with a deep southern twang and she directed us to Bill. Bill, it turned out, was the pilot of the balloon still in the white trailer. He had not taken off today.

Bill was kind enough to direct us to the registration tent. Mom talked to Bill about getting into the festival grounds earlier so we wouldn't miss our flight tomorrow. He said we could ride with him, they left at 4:45 am from the Rio Rancho Best Western, which happened to be where we were staying, too. We got his room number and went back to the registration tent to get more info.

We spent probably three hours at the festival, bought some pins, and generally had a great time. The bus (the trip was a bus tour) took us back to the hotel, where we changed our clothes to go to Santa Fe.

We only had about 2 hours in Santa Fe, because we wanted to get back to Albuquerque for the Balloon Glow and fireworks (on my birthday!). Mom and I spent some time in the little rock shop I loved last year. Nothing really called to me so we left empty handed. Well, not entirely empty handed, we got three tiny vial necklaces designed to put small minerals in. We bought three, because we were going to make Bunny, our fearless leader, a bottle of the Chimayo sacred earth to hang around her neck as a thank you for taking care of us on the trip. The other two were for us. Mom also got two tiny glass bottles with cork stoppers to hold the remaining earth.

We stopped at the French bakery connected to La Fonda and bought a piece of Quiche Lorraine for me and two small desserts for later. I got a strawberry shortcake cake with heavy whipped cream. Mom was better and got a little fruit tart with kiwi, raspberry, and blueberry on top of a light custard. She also got a steak salad at the cafe on the far side of the plaza, the one that's been in business for over 100 years.

I bought, after much delight in shopping all the various stands, a silver feather from a Navajo artist selling at the Palace of the Governors. It is almost two inches long with deep grooves and feels both heavy and light when I wear it. I bought it in part because we are going to fly tomorrow. The wind had picked up quite a bit and many of the artists were packing up to leave. The leaves skittered across the paving stones and crunched underfoot. I always love the crunching of leaves.

After sitting for several minutes and taking pictures and watching the people go by in the plaza, we headed back to where the bus would pick us up. We stopped in the rock shop and mom bought me a pendant I had been looking at earlier. It is a goddess figure with her arms up holding a round cabochon of amethyst.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Cyclone Power

This is going to be a quick post. We're getting ready to leave for New Mexico for the Albuquerque Balloon Festival tomorrow morning.

Mom is an avid Kohl's shopper. I get a lot of my clothes there, and there's always the umpteen times a year they give special discounts, including the coveted 30% off everything in the store. It's a lottery system, most people get the standard 15%, some get an exciting 20%, but only a few get that height of discount, the 30% off.

Well, of course, just before we were due to leave for vacation, Mom got the 30% off sticker on her Kohl's ad in the mail. And we'd been waiting for it. I've been wanting a Dyson Animal vacuum, and Mom's been cautioning me to wait for the 30% off. Twice I've wanted to buy one, but she keeps telling me to wait. When I got in the car and the ad was on the seat, I picked it up and peeled back the sticker. It was Dyson time! And of course, the sale would be over by the time we got back.

When we got down to the store, I was calculating how I would pay on Mom's Kohl's card and chatting amiably away about how nice it would be to have a Dyson, etc. When we finally got the top of the line Dyson 17 in the cart, Mom pulled out her trusty calculator. She came up with a figure, which was pretty good, considering how much they are in the first place and she smiled. "That's only $5 more than I paid for the one in the basement."

What? Which one in the basement? She had her own Dyson, which was how I knew I wanted one of my own. I raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "Which one in the basement?"

"Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas!" she replied, grinning. "I got the lower model on 15% off when it was on sale back in April.

April! She's definitely a mom; she can keep a secret for six months or more. I can't hardly keep a secret for more than a couple of weeks (which is why I do my shopping after NaNoWriMo so I don't have to worry about blurting it out by mistake).

Well, I have to wait till we're back from vacation to use it, but yay! It'll be great! Clean carpets. Won't the kitties be surprised!

Ok, so it wasn't as quick as I thought. Oh well!

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Grand Slam!



Mom and I went to the Rockies game against the Diamondbacks. The Rockies need to win all the rest of the regular season games to make it to the playoffs as the wild card. And we beat the Diamondbacks soundly today.

I haven't been to many games this year, but more than usual, which is generally one game. My aunt owns season tickets and she loves baseball. She recently had a surgical procedure that the doctor wouldn't release her to attend the game, so she gave the tickets to us. She was sorely disappointed to miss the game.

I had my little camera and I took some pictures, which I posted on Picassa as kind of an experiment. The picture above is of Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies Shortstop rookie, just before he takes a swing. At the time, I was taking a picture of his wide stance in the batting box. Just after I got the shot, he ripped one up the middle and made his first career grand slam. And the crowd went wild.

Heck of a game, and a beautiful night on top of it all.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Learning to Listen

GirlZoot turned me on to books on cd a couple of weeks ago. She told me it was like crack, very addictive. When I told her my commute was only around 20 minutes to the office, she waved her hand in dismissal. "Perfect," she exclaimed.

As recommended, I started with a book I knew: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Attwood. I was actually re-reading the book in the flesh so to speak. I filled up my cd player in my trunk with the disks and started to listen.

GirlZoot was right. Audio books act like crack on a bibliophile like me. I'm starting on my fourth book tomorrow. I've listened to two of my all time favorite classic books: The Great Gatsby and All Quiet on the Western Front. Since I've been doing historical novels (or period novels, whichever you prefer) I decided to choose another favorite, Catch-22. Plus, it's a great way to get in some reading during otherwise non-reading moments. Very cool.

I'm almost looking forward to my commute tomorrow.

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Lazy Day

Saturday I got quite a bit done. I went to the bank for an errand, went into work for a few hours and got a lot done, picked up my new inversion table from the management office, and set it up. Mom came up for the setting up and dinner (and she brought her wonderful, amazing, coveted Dyson Animal vacuum for a quick sweep). As soon as the new Dyson goes on a good enough sale at Kohl's, Mom won't have to bring hers up anymore.

Both of us got a chance to try the new inversion table. Back in high school, Kerri's stepdad had an inversion table (we called it the hang-upside-down machine). We both took turns hanging upside-down and I really loved it. The feeling of relaxation, quiet, and calm has stayed with me all these years. When my company formed a partnership with Gaiam, we received a nice discount on their website. When I saw they had the hang-upside-down machine, I had to have one.

Today has been very quiet. I've inverted a little, getting used to the machine. Most of the day has been spent spiffing up the blog after upgrading to a new template, and messing around online. I have a few errands to run, then I'm coming home and consuming vast quantities of Heroes. Mom just finished the series so she lent it to me now.

Then back to work tomorrow. Vacation is coming soon. I really can't wait.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Checking out a piece of history


P9050438
Originally uploaded by Arcadiajoy
Today at lunch, a couple of coworkers and I went out on the Rocky Mountain Metro Airport (formerly Jeffco Airport) and took a tour of the Sentimental Journey, a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress.

Wiz has a vast store of knowledge on airplanes and WWII history, which made for a wonderful and educational half hour. I even walked across the catwalk in the bomb bay which was a bit nerve-wracking as the bomb bay doors were open. I could imagine the wind rushing in when the plane was airborne and got a chill.

Saturday, September 01, 2007

Labor Day Weekend

I love a three day weekend!

I'm in the midst of setting up my 2007 NaNoWriMo blog. Title and plot indeterminate at this time, but I've got some characters burbling in my head. hehe...

Have a great weekend!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Post Secret mini movie

Weekend Stuff

Friday was Kerri's birthday. I took the day off and spent the evening with GirlZoot and Mitch at the Gothic Theatre down on Broadway. We went to the Bowling for Soup concert, and they played all sorts of great stuff. The Gothic has got a great upstairs, with different levels all looking out over the stage. The room has an intimate feel, and I didn't feel crowed, which is a nice change for a rock concert.

Saturday, I went to the library for a bitsy, with all the best intentions to do some writing. I actually spent most of the time chatting with Shaych and GZ, catching up on current events and politics. Valium joined us at the library and we all went by the Apple store at Cherry Creek (shiny new computers and iPods and accessories... oh my). After declining to eat at the food court for quite unreasonable prices, we retired to Hops where we were joined by Shadowowl. Hops changed their glasses - I guess it had been a while since I had been there. Lunch was quite tasty. I decided that after lunch I'd go home. Honestly, I hadn't been feeling well most of the day and I didn't want to drag the rest of the group down. I napped quietly in my green chair with the fan on.

Sunday was quiet. I went out and bought some new nail polish and painted my nails Russian Navy. I love OPI color names. The other two are Vodka & Caviar and An Affair in Red Square. I'm thinking about getting Boris & Natasha. Russian theme...

Good weekend, much needed rest and relaxation. Still, I'm not quite ready for this week at work. I suppose that will get better tomorrow.

Friday, July 27, 2007

End of a Decade

~ No spoilers here ~

I finally got my hands on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows after I went out to grab a bite to eat and checked my mail. Instead of UPS as I expected, the USPS delivered my book in the lovely package box at my mail station. Luckily not everyone in the area was waiting for Harry, as we only have four boxes for about 200 homes.

I read it straight through, well, mostly. Around 1 am, I read the same paragraph about six times in a row and decided to go to bed for a little while. Seven hours later I got up, fed myself some Jell-O and a granola bar to keep up my strength, and finished the book by noon.

People who have heard me talking about Harry Potter and how things are going to turn out know I only had two real predictions salient to the outcome of the series. As promised, there are no spoilers here. I will only say, I was 50% right, and one of the outcomes in relation to my predictions made me unbelievably happy and one of them was heart wrenching.

As I expected, I cried a lot throughout the book. I had to replenish my stock of tissues near my big green chair. I'm a softie, so I cried at the happy things and the sad things, lest you think it is just a terribly sad book. It's not. It's dark, but not exclusively.

I've decided to re-read the book at a more leisurely pace, to absorb some of the details I may have missed on the first pass. I've already had a discussion with GZ about some of the themes which I want to revisit. Overall, I'm pleased with the book, my questions are answered and Harry's world is at rest in my heart.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Summer's slipping away

I'm waiting in my big green chair for Harry Potter to arrive. I'm just about at the point where I'm going to go out and get a bite to eat, because, of course, when I get back, the package will have arrived. And I'm getting tired of waiting.

I spent most of my free time the last couple of weeks re-reading books 1 thru 6. When I finished Half Blood Prince, I cried, a lot, and moped about most of the next day. Now I'm just wanting to get on with it. Of course, I'm having mixed feelings about the whole thing. Whereas, it is always good to get to the end of the book to know what happens, this is the LAST book. When it's over, it's over. Except for the movies. I'm consoling myself that I'll read the entire series again when Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows each come out on the silver screen.

I know I haven't been terribly communicative this summer (or really this year). I've not had a lot to muse on and felt I haven't had a whole heck of a lot to say. I'm enjoying my summer, spending time with family and friends, reading, thinking about writing, even going to work has been relatively nice.

Last week, I babysat my cousin, Little Miss, and she was just so funny. We gave her a fudgesicle paddle pop and she walked around eating it, saying "It's cold and creamy." She thought it was just wonderful, until it started melting all over her hand and onto the grass. We rescued it with a bowl and a spoon. After the creamy cold treat, we kicked around the soccer balls for a while. She's pretty good for being not quite 3.

Ok, I'm going out for a little while. When I get back, I'm sure I'll have my copy of the Deathly Hallows waiting patiently for me to read it. Won't that be lovely!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Bands on the Bricks


P7110126
Originally uploaded by Arcadiajoy
Last night a friend and I went to Bands on the Bricks in Boulder. Onda played two sets of Latin rhythms and melodies between 7 and 9pm.

We had a lot of fun checking out the dancers, moms & dads with their kids, smiling couples, teenagers, and independent spirits. I admit, I was snarky at times, what with a fashion faux pas or twelve. There was one guy with a shirt of little skulls and a giant neon yellow skull on the back. Maybe it was just too busy for me, but wow. One free spirit showed more skin than probably truly necessary, but she certainly was enjoying herself. One guy wore Wolverine on his shirt. That was cool.

I loved watching the hairstyles, on ladies or gentlemen, and got a few interesting shots. We did see some punks at the end of the night, but it was too dark to catch the shot so far away. One kid had a periwinkle Mohawk in big spikes. "

To tell the truth, live music really makes me happy. Occasionally it makes me a bit nostalgic; last night I thought of two years ago in August when I last saw my favorite band outside under the Boulder sky. Onda's music was similar, and the crowd seemed nearly as excited. I smiled and turned my camera back on the dancing fools before me and after a moment, joined them.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Do you always...

watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it.

Daisy Buchanan, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Happy Summer Solstice!!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Benjamin Franklin

Don't worry, John. The history books will clean it up.

Well, it doesn't matter. I'll not appear in the history books, anyway. Only you. Franklin did this and Franklin did that... and Franklin did some other damn thing. Franklin smote the ground and out sprang... George Washington... fully grown and on his horse. Franklin then electrified him with his miraculous lightining rod... then the three of them-- Franklin, Washington and the horse-- conducted the entire revolution all by themselves.

I like it.

Howard Da Silva as Benjamin Franklin
William Daniels as John Adams
1776

Monday, April 23, 2007

Book & Lover's Day


Stack of Books
Originally uploaded by Arcadiajoy.
Today is Book and Lover's Day. A rose for love and a book forever! Tattered Cover gives out roses when you buy a book today.

I went with Girlzoot and Shadowowl to the new Tattered Cover on Colfax and we spend several pleasant hours browsing in the books and gathering treasures.

The top book, Kushiel's Dart, is going to be the first book in our new book club. I started reading the book that jumped into my basket first, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson. Shirley Jackson wrote the chilling and very memorable "The Lottery". This story is set in the same village.

I try to make my major book purchase on Book & Lover's Day. I spread my choices out over different genres and types of books, poetry, classics, short stories, contemporary and writing. I missed out on my writing book by Joyce Carol Oates, but I found a short stories book by her which evened out.

So I expect to spend many more pleasant hours reading and enjoying my new books. Happy Book & Lover's Day!

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Another Week

My uncle is doing better. I went to see him Monday night and he was still sedated in ICU with a ventalator and a big bandage on his head. Thursday, he was sitting up, breathing room air, and talking up a blue streak. He still has a way to go, but I think he's going to make it just fine.

Work has been interesting, and a bit on the frantic side, but what's new, really? I'm excited about the new position and I would like to get down to business on my new projects. Now, to get management to agree... I have been pulled back into the day to day business pretty strongly. I am going to have a talk with my manager to make sure I'm on the right track.

I really enjoyed the rain today. The clean fresh smell during and after the rain was such a refreshing change after all the snow this winter.

Enough randomness for now, more later :)

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Scary Night

I found out this afternoon my uncle passed out twice this weekend. This evening, he went in for brain surgery. He is now out of surgery. My cousin in Brasil, four hours ahead, is laying awake waiting for a call from her mom to let her know if her dad made it through surgery.

My aunt, who is generally the rock around which the family revolves, is frightened. We are all grateful he came through the surgery, but the future is still uncertain. But isn't it always?

Promotions Poetry and Posting

It has been a while since my last post, and I missed February entirely! (It's a short month, easy to miss... right?)

I just wanted to put out a quick post on a couple of things going on in my world. First of all, I got the promotion that my manager spoke to me about back in September. Yay! Now to get on to the first real project, well, second project after this report for Sales my director wants done by the end of next week. I'll be the content owner of all policies and operating procedures for the entire department including accts receivable, credit and collections, and deductions. Nothing like a big challenge to start off a promising new job.

I've been reading some poetry books I recently bought, mostly anthologies. I'm reading familiar favorites as well as meeting new friends. I might review some of the poems (if I get adventerous). For now, I am really enjoying them. I'm getting inspired to try my hand at poetry again; it has been a few years since I seriously wrote poetry on a consistant basis. I have also re-read some of my friend Kerri's poetry and that has been inspiring in other ways.

The sun is shining today, even if it is a bit cool out, and I am off to enjoy some of the pleasant late winter weather. Have a great day!

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Happy Late New Year!

Sixth week in a row with snow... cold enough to keep the snow on the ground and in 7 foot high walls and piles. The weather and conditions are somewhat depressing and bringing out a strong sense of hibernating. I have gotten in a great deal of TV show watching on DVD, 5 seasons of 24, My Name is Earl, Dead Like Me, Boston Legal, House MD.

I did get Duke Incognito out for printing, yay!

Since the beginning of the year, I have said goodbye to two friends who have passed out of this life. One was a great writer, a bard of the highest caliber, a sweet, funny, kind man with a sparkle in his eye and a particular talent making fires which we all enjoyed at Writers Guild during the cooler months. The other was my beloved bird of 25 years, Deeter, who brought song and beauty into my world for nearly three quarters of my life.

I'm working on goals for this year, projects I want to start or finish and activities I want to participate in. One thing I know already is I want to read more this year than last year.