I AM FROM . .  .

Today, in an exercise with a peer advisory group I'm in, we had to write a paper in 10 minutes with the topic "I Am From . . ."  Here is what poured out without much thought, but rather from the heart:

I am from Randall and Mattie and grandparents I never knew.
I am from small towns in Arkansas, from which I could not wait to escape, but which provided the platform for me being able to try cases to jurors all across the socio-economic range and still be successful.
I am from a love of animals, especially dogs.  In that sense, I am from Bugle, Bud, Murphy, Sadie, Cooper, and Chloe.
I am from a childhood of days riding bikes, going to the swimming pool, hanging out with friends and not seeing my parents until dinner or bedtime, something my child has never known because of my worries for her safety.
I am from Moon Pies and RC Cola, when I could purchase each for a quarter.
I am from a world of growing up with no cell phones, no social media, and not being surrounded by televisions, for which I am grateful.  I am from a world of books.
I am from a family where conflict never occurred, and then married a man who beat me brutally one night and turned me into a single mom and sole parent.
I am from a childhood of Christianity, which frustrated me endlessly, and, after much studying and searching, have adopted Buddhism as my philosophy and practice.
I am from a place of endless curiosity in my mind about the world and places I have not seen, which makes commitment to a person or place challenging for me.                           I am from a place of many challenges, but from which I somehow manage to survive and grow.

 I have wanted to edit this ever since I wrote it, but feel I would somehow betray myself by doing so. It's what I felt at that time.  It's . . . where I'm from, I suppose.

Back to Sea Level

Wow . . . it's been over a year. And . . . I'm now . . . back to sea level. Unexpected? Completely. Lots of changes. In April, with the economic picture at my employer looking even gloomier, and with the construction industry tanking causing Robert to get laid off, we decided it was time to leave Colorado and make a new start . . . but we were never looking at Arkansas. I was a finalist for a job in North Carolina . . . that unfortunately went to the interim GC. Then Robert was offered a position in Toronto (but I couldn't practice law there and, with a child to still put through college, I need to practice law for several more years.) Then Robert started looking in Texas, and I started a long process for a position in the Pacific Northwest. Out of the blue, in September, a former colleague told me of a position coming open back home, that, truly, was the only position I could imagine that would take me back to a state I thought I had left for good. I applied and within 4 weeks was making plans to move back home. And would my Canadian ever consider moving to the American South? The first time he ever set foot in the state was the day he flew in to look at houses with me. It was a bumpy time in the relationship . . . big changes. His green card had yet to arrive and, as ICE made very clear, would not be forwarded. So, could he move? He had just started a new job in Denver a couple of weeks before I accepted the job back home. His soccer development business he started over the summer was going gangbusters. What right did I have to do this so suddenly? Love was put to the test. And, thankfully, love won out. Robert threw all caution (reason?) to the wind, quit his job, and moved with me and Bug to Arkansas. The packers were scheduled for Friday, November 5. The green card arrived one day before . . . it was fated.

The loaders arrived on the 6th and mistakenly packed all the bedding and pillows we intended to sleep on that night. So . . . we improvised . . . boy, did we improvise . . . we drove to Colorado Springs to say bye to Robert's daughter and treated ourselves WITH THE BOXERS to a night at The Broadmoor . . . it was FABULOUS . . . absolutely fabulous. And the dogs got a turn down service with beautiful dogs beds, ceramic bowls, gourmet cookies, and gold tags identifying them as "Guests of The Broadmoor". It was hysterical, but wonderful. Other guests' reactions to the Boxers the entire visit was very funny. (Rich doggies, more than 1 person whispered as we passed -- hardly) Bug's birthday was the next morning, so we had the famous Broadmoor Brunch with Robert's daughter. We ate way too much food, said our goodbyes, and made our way back to the room to see if the Boxers had been good or if they had been taken to the security office for unruliness (which the brochure had warned of) . . . We opened the door to the room and two bodies bounded off of the very expensive duvets on our beds (so much for the nice dog beds).

That day and the next were LOOOOOONNNNGGGG days of driving before we finally arrived at our new hometown. Although we arrived on a Monday, we weren't taking possession of the house until Friday. So our very first home (again with the Boxers) was the Embassy Suites. It was a fast week, moved in over the weekend, and I started my new job on Monday (big mistake . . . huge). From then to now, it's been a whirlwind. On Thanksgiving night, Robert and I finally married . . . in our beautiful gardens that came with the house, under an arch he covered in twinkle lights, next to our waterfall that leads to our koi pond. It had rained all day, but quit raining 20 minutes before the Justice of the Peace showed up, and stayed dry until she left after the ceremony at which point the rains flowed again. Again, fated. It was a beautiful, quiet ceremony, attended by Bug and . . . of course, the Boxers.

Here we are in May, and things have not settled down in the time we've been here. Bug and I have both had some fairly serious issues with our spines, oddly enough. Robert worked non-stop on the house and its "projects" for a full 2 months before starting a job that has been difficult, to say the least. My job has been much more challenging than I expected. Bug is trying to make her way through new teachers, new and old friends, and new curriculum. We've had record snowstorms, tornadoes, and flooding, and some days it's really tough to remember why we ever thought we should leave Colorado. But, here I am . . . back at sea level . . . and anxious to see what the future holds.

The Tree at the Labyrinth

Yesterday, the two groups going through the spirituality training I've been engaged in since January were carpooled to a sanctuary near Sedalia, Colorado, for a day of meditation and inner work. The sanctuary was the brain child of a woman who lost her daughter and was guided by her spirit to build a labyrinth to allow people to heal, and two attorneys who cashed in their 401K's to buy the land, build the sanctuary, and the various meditation areas that you find when you explore the paths on the land. The sanctuary is also supported by Douglas County and numerous individuals. Inside the actual sanctuary, there are bookshelves filled with books donated by people from all walks of life and all religions -- it's open to everyone, irrespective of personal beliefs, as a place to heal. It was an amazing day . . . in addition to the large group work, we spent about 5 hours in meditation utilizing different techniques in different small group sessions during the day: Nature, Qigong, Sanctuary, Labyrinth, and Writing. The time in the sanctuary, going through a cleansing and healing meditation, was the most powerful for me. I think I floated out of the Sanctuary down to the Labyrinth to go on a walking meditation. At the center of the Labyrinth, I received the answer to a question I'd been seeking. At the end of the day, before the groups met up again, I had my writing session where we were given two assignments: one, write about the experience of the day to be read by my main teacher and the other, to write from the perspective of an inanimate object that you had come in contact during the day. I wrote from the perspective of . . . .

The Tree at the Labyrinth
. . . . . I was here . . . waiting on you to lean on me. I saw you look around at the other trees, trying to decide which was "the best", but you were drawn to me, even with the curve in my trunk. You fell back against me, almost in exhaustion. The sanctuary experience was tough on you. It's hard for you to let go or release. It's hard for you to let someone see you vulnerable. It's hard for you to let people put their hands on you and not pull back --- you're so scared that when they touch you, they will see through your carefully constructed facade that you're strong, tough, independent, and don't need anyone else in the world . . . when, actually, you don't feel like you're any of those things at times and that you do need people. So, I was glad to be here for you today. I was glad you leaned on me and felt my sturdiness. You need to recognize your roots are as strong as mine.

I can't wait to return to the Sanctuary with Robert and Mattie and show them my beautiful tree. The one that supported me when I needed it so.

Creating A Vision Board

Busy, busy past month . . . and haven't wanted to write much since Kayla crossed over. Our entire family, dogs included, have been in mourning and a bit out of sync. But, on January 23rd, I began a very personal journey of further developing my spirituality and beliefs. Not a fan of religious dogma, I'm studying under two gifted and wise teachers, and I'm on this journey with a group of 25 others. For the next nine months, we're going to engage in some butt-kicking, gut-wrenching introspective work. My first assignment was to create a "vision board". A vision board, in and of itself, is a simple concept: take a poster board, glue onto it pictures or words that represent what you want out of life, and consistently view it so that you begin to manifest those things in your life. There is a scientfic principal behind it --at the base of the human brain stem, in between the medulla oblongata and the mesencephalon, there is a small finger-sized control center called the reticular activating system (RAS) that sorts and evaluates the huge amount of incoming information your brain receives. Your RAS filters that massive amount of incoming data and also acts as receiver for information that is tagged as "important". According to one university researcher, your RAS can’t distinguish what is a real event and one you contrive, and, therefore, you can exploit this weakness to program it to seek out things in our environment that resonate with our personal goals, i.e., through the use of a vision board. For me, however, that science stuff just sucks all the fun and mystery out of it --- I prefer to just refer to it as the "law of attraction" that has received so much media attention over the past several years with the popularity of "The Secret". Anyway, I made my vision board, pasting onto it the things I desire most in my life --- my relationships, city I want to live in, places I want to travel to, wealth, healthy living, music, words that I want to frame my life, yada yada yada. I'm not sure, though, that I might not revise it. For example, I put on it a picture of a black 7 series, BMW (I once was given one for a weekend to enjoy -- ooh la la, what a ride), but, after reflection, I really don't want a $100,000 car ---- it, in no way, resonates with who I am. So, I think my "vision" might need revisions, but I've made a great start. I even put my board into the transparency cover on the front of my class notebook so that I see it every day and am, hopefully, manipulating my RAS to make this stuff my reality. Time will tell . . .

Goodbye, Sweet Kayla

Today is a very sad day for our family. The matriarch of our canines, Kayla, crossed over this morning. What a beautiful soul . . . she would have been 16 years old in May. Robert got her when he was living in British Columbia, and she's been through a lot with him over the years. Always faithful, always loving. I've never seen a dog as crazy about food. She did this happy dance every time we would feed her . . . . bouncing back and forth between the 2 back legs and the 2 front legs, then twisting, and, if you weren't fast enough with the food bowl, barking at you to speed things up. And she had an amazing internal clock that, if we happened to be home, exactly at 5:00 p.m., she would come find you so that you could fill that food bowl. The Boxers, who previous to our family merger had been "pick at the bowl all day long" eaters, learned quickly to eat their food or it would be gone.

Over the holidays, we knew something was up because she stopped doing the happy dance. She stopped eating her food at one point, but we bought her a different food which she seemed to love, so we hoped she had just tired of the old food. However, a few days ago, she stopped showing interest in that food . . . then we found some soiled spots on the carpet . . . something was definitely not right. Friday night, when Mattie and I came home, Robert was on the floor with her . . . he said she had stumbled coming down the stairs and just stayed where she fell. She wouldn't eat or drink. Later that night, though, Robert's daughter came over . . . we were going to go skiing the next day, so she was going to spend the night with us. Kayla perked up a little when she arrived. The next morning, she even ate her breakfast and went outside with the other dogs . . . we thought maybe the previous evening had just been a sore muscle or hip. We had neighbors check on her throughout the day, and she seemed okay Saturday night when we returned from skiing. However, on Sunday, she barely moved the entire day. Wouldn't eat . . . even when I cooked her chicken, which she loved. Wouldn't eat her cookies. Wouldn't play. At one point, I tried to take her out to use the bathroom, and she collapsed at the edge of the patio. I got a blanket and put on the floor and carried her back inside. She didn't move all night and only drank a little water, no food. So, this morning, we called the vet first thing. No appointments available, but they said they could work us in on a walk-in basis. At 10:30, they called us back. The vet took her history from us, checked her heart and her kidneys and told us it was time. Her kidneys were hard and very small . . . and with the lack of output over the course of the weekend, signaled failure. Her heart was very slow and breathing labored. . . . She was suffering, which a grand lady like her should not have to do.

I've never had to do anything like that before.

My first dog, Bugle, went without my knowledge . . . my dad took him to the vet without me even knowing . . . and came home without him. I still struggle with that today . . . the never-getting-to-say-goodbye to my first best friend. My second dog, Bud, was living with my parents when I was at college . . . I came home for the weekend, and my dad told me that Bud was ready to die and that he had just let him out of the pen to go do it on his terms. I was dumbfounded and furious. My brother and I spent the entire day . . . until nightfall . . . looking for his body . . . never found it. My third dog, Murphy, my beloved Basset Hound, was staying with my first husband at the time he crosssed over because I had suspected my second husband, who I was married to at the time, was being abusive to him when I was not around --- this same husband is the one who beat me to a pulp one night for turning down the volume on our TV after putting Bug to bed. So I was not with Murphy either . . . he was 14 though and had lived a great life. My first husband very sweetly took him back to his parents' property in Mena and buried him there. The night my second husband beat me, he also kicked our Great Dane, Sadie, in the mouth as he crossed the room to take me out. So, when I left home to live on the road with Bug (my ex was threatening to kill me), we sheltered Sadie with a vet friend of mine so she wouldn't be hurt by him. Devastated and trying to live as a single parent with a 4-year-old, paying all the bills without any support, I found a couple in Northwest Arkansas who had Sadie's sibling and some other Great Danes . . . I gave her to them to raise while I picked up the pieces of a broken life. They loved her dearly, and I could never bring myself to ask for her back after I got back on my feet a couple of years later. She, too, crossed over before I moved to Colorado, but I wasn't there.

Long story to say that I was not prepared for today. But the vet was incredible. He's the same one who diagnosed Cooper with Addison's Disease, and he was compassionate, competent, and answered all of our questions before we could even ask. He shaved a little area of her beautiful golden leg and inserted the IV. Robert and I held her the entire time . . . . looking into those beautiful, loving brown eyes . . . telling her what a good dog she had been . . . how she had always done everything right . . . how much love and joy she had brought to everyone . . . how we were so thankful she wouldn't have to hurt or struggle anymore. We held her until the very end . . . one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do . . . watch the life go out of a living creature . . . one of our cherished family members.

Goodby, sweet Kayla . . . . we miss you so . . . .

Future You or Past You . . . which one would you rather talk to?

Robert’s daughter gave me a book for Christmas entitled “What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self”. It is a collection of letters written by prominent, successful women and edited by Ellyn Spragins. The writers include Maya Angelou, Cokie Roberts, Olympia Dukakis, Madeleine Albright, Picabo Street, and other wonderful women, and with each letter, the author writes to herself at a younger age . . . giving her younger self a piece of information or advice that she wishes she had known “then” or the encouragement to get through a coming hurdle. The book stuck with me long after I had finished reading it because of the concept. . . . I have had numerous turning points in my life where I would have liked to have had the wisdom of my future. Times when I could have used the older, wiser me to let me know things were going to be okay. The proverbial “this, too, shall pass” might have meant more coming from “future me” as opposed to well-meaning friends. I loved the idea of the letter . . . it seems therapeutic. I loved the idea so much that I sent the idea to my dear friend who is chairing the literary festival in my former state. What if . . . you got women who are successful role models in the state and community to write those letters and read them at a public forum with teen-aged and college-aged women in attendance? . . . could it provide encouragement? . . . could it give them a tool in their war chests to use when life comes at them full force? When I was younger, I never had an ounce of appreciation for the real lives of the women I viewed as successful. To me, their lives seemed charmed. They, obviously, did not wear their trials and tribulations on their sleeves for the rest of us to see, so I assumed the absence of difficulties. So many times, when I was struggling over the years, I considered myself such a “failure” because I was dealing with real-life problems instead of having the carefree life I assumed came with success. As I’ve grown older and seen the challenges me and my friends have overcome, I know now that behind EVERY successful woman is a trail of difficulties she’s encountered and overcome . . . life’s little tests that have made her stronger and brought her to the success that everyone admires.

Shortly after finishing the book, I came across another concept. A local radio DJ found a website at www.futureme.org. With this website, you pick a date in the future to have an email delivered to you . . . it can be one week, one year, twenty years . . . it’s your decision . . . and then you write an email to yourself and have it delivered on that date. (Of course, if you’re picking a date far out in the future, you need to make sure you are going to have the same email address . . . and, of course, hopefully, you’ll still be on planet Earth at your chosen time. ) In any event, I think it has the potential to offer a similar benefit. . . . .

So, who would you rather write to? Your former self or your future self? Try it!

I'm Baaaaaack . . . . .

One year and one month later, I'm finally making this blog a priority once again. I've missed it . . . not sure if anyone else has . . . but, as I looked back at it recently, I realized what a wonderful history of my time in Colorado it provided when I was writing. With my mother having died from an Alzheimer's-related complication, and having shown symptoms in her early sixties, my memories have become increasingly precious to me. Last year has to have been one of the best of my life, and I was so busy living that I didn't really record . . . well . . . anything. I have pictures from our travels, but outside of documenting in a journal one trip to Nanaimo for Robert's dad's funeral, I have nothing. So, while I originally started this blog so that my beloved friends and family in Arkansas would have a window into my life out west, the driving force behind my re-entry into the blogging world is to capture my own life in a format I can return to should the memories begin to fade.

It was a growth year, that's for sure. Robert and I moved in together on December 17, 2008, and started our journey as a family with Bug, 2 Boxers (Cooper and Chloe), and a Golden Retriever (Kayla). In that short time, an awful lot happened. We lost Robert's father to colon cancer in January. In February, Robert started a new job, and we bought a new car (one which I'm still trying to learn to like). Bug finished elementary school and started middle school. Robert suffered a torn plantaris tendon in his men's soccer championship game, two days before we were to leave for California for him to play in a long-anticipated hockey tournament with his former Canadian hockey buddies -- so our summer plans of tennis, hiking the mountains, and biking were over with a nasty slide tackle. In August, we started a soccer team - - - Robert became the coach of Bug's team, while continuing to coach a boys' premier competitive team out of Westminster. I (naively) took on the roles of team manager and fitness trainer. In September and October, Robert patiently nursed me through surgery and the yucky recovery thereafter. Over the course of the year, we traveled to Canada four times, Seattle once, and made lots of weekend jaunts to the ski resorts. We've had to deal with immigration issues, an "ex", and agonizing decisions over where, in the metro area, we want to live.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it all . . . but, it was an incredible year. I have the life partner and relationship I've dreamed about since I was a little girl . . . the one I could never find until I learned some really hard . . . life lessons. Bug. . . . . . finally . . . . . has the father and male role model that has never existed in her life. She has a smart, beautiful, and wonderfully talented "older sister" in Robert's 25-year-old daughter. She has a loving, athletic, fun "older brother" in Robert's 28-year-old son, who has a beautiful, sweet wife, from China, and the most adorable daughter, who just turned 2. We are a twenty-first century, multi-cultural, multi-national family. Robert and I successfully merged dogs, dishes, and lots of furniture. We triumphed over those inevitable first-year challenges . . . and there were some challenges considering our collective baggage of failed marriages . . . two each . . . (and, for each of us, our "second spouses" were real doozies). Yet, I've never felt so incredibly blessed in my life. I feel like I've found the yin to my yang (or is he the yang to my yin . . .?), anyway, it's the best. I have a peace about me that I'm not sure I've ever felt. Robert has said the exact same thing to me. My daughter has blossomed in ways I could not have imagined. So . . . a resolution for 2010 was to not let it get by me without recording some of these terrific life events . . . the triumphs and the tragedies. :) Make no mistake . . . I'm still in search of that "high altitude attitude" . . . I hope you enjoy the journey with me to find it.

Avs beat Canucks 5--4 in an overtime shootout . . .

. . . and someone wasn't happy about it!!! LOL The Colorado Avalanche took on the Vancouver Canucks last night at the Pepsi Center. The Canucks are ranked first in the division, and, apparently, there is quite the rivalry between the two teams. Robert, being from Vancouver Island, is quite the Canucks fan. So off to the game we went . . . in opposing jerseys.





We received lots of looks and comments at the game since we were holding hands and obviously a couple. Other fans found it very amusing to see obvious rivalry in the relationship! Anytime a side would score, people would watch our reactions to each other. The Canadians in the stands were particularly outspoken and very friendly. Luckily for Robert, there were several Canucks fans behind us. One of them took this picture of us while we were still playing "nice", although he told me he cut me out of the picture completely since I was "wearing the wrong jersey."

One very cute thing that happened during the game. Bug (who recently has become the text messaging and emailing QUEEN) watched the game at home with the babysitter and . . . even though Robert and I were AT the game, thought she should email me the score everytime someone made a goal. After the first couple of times she did this, she texted "I will update you everytime the score changes." Again, WE WERE AT THE GAME!! LOL LOL I thought that was one of the cutest, funniest things ever . . . and, by gosh, everytime a goal was scored, I could see the red light going off on my phone. At one point, when we were tied 4-4, she even took a picture of the television screen showing the scoreboard and emailed it to me. With that kind of enthusiasm, Robert and I are committed to taking her with us to the games from now on.

And . . . Robert was selected to play with a Canadian team at an invitational hockey tournament in Santa Rosa in July. And he's invited Bug and I to go with him. So she'll get to see him play. He's supposed to be the "goalie extraordinaire" . . . . I saw one email someone sent out describing him as having "the reflexes of a cat" in goal. Whoo hoo! Can't wait to see that!

All in all, it was a very fun evening . . . although someone never did quite get over the loss . . .

Freezing in Denver

Something not to do today in Denver . . . . it's 16 degrees and supposed to drop to 8. Has been snowing all day and expected to get up to 4 inches. I just want to go home, put on sweats, and snuggle with my Sweetie. But, being this is Colorado, everyone is in full work mode. No delayed school starts, no work closings . . . just business as usual. To top it off, our University president is having his holiday party outside at the zoo tonight!!! Snowing and 8 degrees . . . with an outside party. Granted, dinner is in a pavilion, but still. Trying to think of a way to graciously back out, but nothing's coming to me. . . . . Will make sure not to stick my tongue on any poles. :)

Birthday Weekend in Chicago

Trying to find time to update my blog is difficult these days . . . but that's a good thing because life is filled up with some pretty wonderful times . . . for a change. LOL Anyway, we had an incredible birthday weekend in Chicago on November 7 - 9. Bug's birthday was the 7th . . . can't believe she is 11 years old . . . . for her special day, she wanted to go to Chicago, have her birthday dinner at American Girl Place, see Wicked before it closes there in January, and see her friend Emily who is her friend and our former neighbor in Cherry Creek.


We started off the day with presents at home, then off to the airport. Robert was 2 days off of crutches and in a walking cast. Luckily, Southwest let him pre-board and Bug went with him, so we got decent seats and all together.


We arrived to a chilly, gray Chicago. When you live in Denver, it is EXTREMELY rare to have a gray day. So rare that we were happy to see gray skies for a change. The city still had a tremendous energy from the election 3 days prior to our arrival and, in fact, Obama was speaking on the day we arrived. Our cab took us right by Grant Park where he accepted the presidency.


We stayed at the Millineum Knickerbocker Hotel on East Walton Place, just steps from the Mag Mile. The hotel was great. I especially loved our bathroom and now know what I want in my shower if I ever get to build a house. Shower heads everywhere! It was great! After checking in, we headed to the 900 Shops for lunch and shopping. We dined on antipasto, cheese pizza, and the "famous" chopped salad at Frankie's 5th Floor Pizzeria . . .






Afterwards, we shopped at Bloomingdale's where Robert found some really nice Armani jeans on sale and where, unfortunately, the sales person AND Bug overheard me commenting on how nice his "bootie" looked in them as he was walking away from me after he tried them on. The sales person found it very amusing . . . and continued to talk about it through the checkout process . . . and Bug found it very embarrassing and told me I was never to make those comments in public again. I thought I was making a private comment . . . but nonetheless, I was scolded harshly by my daughter. And Robert, well . . . he seemed to enjoy it all and apparently he thought he looked pretty darn good himself . . . LOL! (And he did!)


After shopping, we went back to the hotel for a short rest before hitting American Girl Place, which has moved from its Chicago Avenue location to the Water Tower Place on Michigan Avenue, only 2 1/2 blocks from our hotel . . . entirely too close as we went there 2 days in a row for loooooooonnnnnnggg periods of time, but I digress. Robert had never . . . . um . . . experienced . . . an American Girl Place before, so he was a bit overwhelmed as we walked through the door. Bug, however, was on a mission. She had been studying a catalog we received in the mail for a good 3 days, so she was off and running, armed with a purse full of her money and anticipating Mom would cough up some birthday goods as well. She bought clothes and a dog for Samantha, one of the dolls that's about to be archived for who knows how long (apparently taking a marketing ploy from Walt Disney). She tried on a number of clothes for herself . . . rejecting ALL of the clothes I liked, but "loving" the ones Robert picked out for her to try . . . hmmmmm. Then she bought another doll, Mia, bringing her total doll count to 6. And she bought the matching outfit for Mia that I had purchased for her, a very cute skating sweater, skirt, and tights. Next, off to the Bitty Baby store, where we bought Robert's granddaughter, Kalynn, her very first American Girl. It is so sweet! And we got Kalynn and her doll matching red velvet and lace Christmas dresses. Before dinner (and almost an hour and a half after entering the store), we went to the doll hair salon where Annalisa, Bug's "look-alike" American Girl, had her ears pierced and her hair styled . . . the doll, not Bug. Although the cost is very similar. :( At the hair salon is where Robert's eyes really started to glaze over and he began repeatedly asking for beer and chicken wings (which, of course, are not available at American Girl Place). So we quickly ushered him towards the cafe, where we had dinner reservations. I had ordered the birthday package, so Bug and Annalisa received birthday crowns, a birthday sticker for Bug, and goody bags for the 3 of us. Annalisa received her own chair at the table.




After appetizers of warm cinnamon buns and cheese, fruits, and meats, we had dinner . . . . tilapia for me and chicken pot pie for Bug and Robert. The adults enjoyed some champagne while Bug enjoyed AG's famous pink lemonade. After dinner, a number of singing waiters arrived with a birthday cake and peppermint ice cream . . . YUM!!




We stuck the daisies that were in our individual ice cream servings behind our ears for this picture. . . because at that point, the estrogen had completely overtaken poor Robert.

The next morning, we slept late and then met Bug's friend Emily and her mother Beth at L'Appetito in the John Hancock Plaza for breakfast. It was great to see our friends. Bug and Emily didn't skip a beat in getting to "girl talk".

And after breakfast, guess where the girls wanted to shop first . . . yes, American Girl Place. (sigh) I was tired of it after the evening before, but it was Bug's weekend so we headed back out to AGP.

Fortunately, the girls didn't spend too much time there and we were able to shop other stores in the Water Tower Place. We introduced Robert to Frango Mints. And Bug got some really cute clothes at Abercrombie (not Abercrombie & Fitch) and Aeropostle. Unfortunately, Beth lost both her parking ticket AND her keys that morning, so we spent an inordinate amount of time looking for both, but eventually they were found and we grabbed a cab and headed to the theater district for our 2:00 matinee performance of Wicked. Thankfully, we were able to get a snack of Garrett's popcorn right before heading into the theater.

Wicked was SPECTACULAR . . . as always. My third time to see it in the past 2 years, and I think I could see it every month and never get bored. The songs, the clever script, the costumes . . . just one of my favorite productions of all time. It was Robert's first time to see it, and he thought it was great. And . . . he liked the beer they served at the theater! LOL

After Wicked, we got Beth's car out of the parking garage and headed to a little French restaurant called Kiki's. The food was so incredibly delicious. Bug's roasted chicken came with a huge amount of "pomme frites", so all 5 of us snacked off of her plate during the meal! And the desserts . . . magnifique! My mouse chocolatte was tres bonne!

The next morning, Sunday, started out with Robert and Bug going on a sugar high. While I was showering, they got into the very rich truffles we had purchased at the candy store the day before, as well as Robert going after some gummy bears and both Robert and Bug opening the Frango Mints and Caramels. That pretty much set the tone for bad eating for the remainder of the day. :) As we set out on our last day in Chicago, the first stop was L'Appetito again for some coffee and . . . (sigh) cookies. (And it gets worse.) Next stop, the Hancock Observatory. 94th floor, please. (whew) Here is the picture taken of us before we got on the elevator.

The views at the top were fantastic. 360 degrees. We were given headphones and audio boxes (narrated by Chicago's own David Schwimmer of "Friends") to enhance our tour. We saw Lake Michigan and Navy Pier, great views of the city, and it even started to snow while we were there. And the snow was inverted because of the heat from all the surrounding buildings, so it was snowing upwards!

On one side of the building, there is a window washing display where you can take pictures. Robert and Bug got really silly . . . which one tends to do when one has ingested nothing but large amounts of sugar and caffeine.




After a very fun morning at the Hancock Observatory, we decided we needed to consume some of Chicago's finest hot dogs . . . so off we went to Portillo's, located at Clark and Ontario.

The hot dogs were awesome! (as you can tell by the happy, stuffed faces)

Not content with our stomachs being filled only with candy, cookies, hot dogs, and french fries, we next headed back to the Mag Mile for Ghiradelli ice cream. Sundaes for all! Bug got a little overwhelmed with hers . . . see the glazed eyes?


After some"guy" shopping at Nike Town and a few other stores, we decided to go on a Chicago Trolleys Tour. It was a lot of fun. We toured the Gold Coast, saw Oprah's street, visited the Mag Mile, financial district, and theater district. Got caught in some Bears game traffic, but it was okay. Was able to stop at one of the trolley stops and get some more Garrett's pop corn (as if we had not consumed enough junk food for one day already). But boy was I happy to get some Chicago mix . . . cheese and caramel. Robert opted for cheese corn, and Bug went with the traditional butter.

Finally, it was time to head back to the airport. A quick pic on the way back in front of the very beautiful Fourth Presbyterian Church on Michigan Avenue, the oldest surviving structure on the Mag Mile.

It was a great weekend in Chicago! One we'll remember for a very long time. We're already looking forward to a return trip . . . when it's warm, so that we can spend time on Lake Michigan and at Navy Pier.

Chicago bound

Whoo hoo! Twenty-four hours from now I'll be in one of my very most favorite cities --- Chicago! Robert and I are taking Bug for her eleventh birthday. Tomorrow shopping and a birthday dinner at the new American Girl Place on Michigan Avenue. Saturday, meeting friends, more shopping, and seeing "Wicked" (and hopefully trips to get our favorite Chicago popcorn mix -- Garrett's cheddar and caramel). Sunday, more eating and more shopping. Aah . . . the anticipation. . . . I love Chicago . . . the people, the shopping, the arts, the energy. It's been a year and a half since I was there . . . on my birthday in 2007. Too long to be away. I want Robert to see the view from the top of the John Hancock Building and hopefully make a trip to the Art Institute. I can hardly wait!!!!

So glad I was there . . .

This is Bug and I on the night of President-Elect Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. As I wrote in a previous entry after the convention, I was so hopeful that evening that I had just witnessed the next President of the United States with my daughter at my side. Thankfully, America, that dream came true last night.

I am so hopeful for the future.

We watched the returns from home last evening, Bug, Robert and I. We were settling in for a long night when, unbelievably, Charlie Gibson broke in at 9:00 P.M. and declared the election had gone to Obama. California's 55 electoral votes, along with some other states, pushed him quickly over the requisite 270. We were estatic!!!

I had moved some of my favorite champagne, Veuve Clicquot, from Arkansas with me and had been saving it for a special night and special someone. America's historic vote warranted opening that bottle. Robert took it out on the balcony to open it, and the cork flew all the way over on top of the neighbor's roof!!

Chloe has the biggest crush on Robert and EVERY SINGLE TIME I got up from the sofa, she took my spot! Here is a picture of her watching the returns with Robert . . . and one of her testing the bouquet of the Veuve Clicquot. LOL

I survived the sharks . . . the Avs didn't

Lots of sharks in my life lately . . . First, on Friday, October 24th, Bug had her birthday party at the Downtown Denver Aquarium. A sleepover ( a misnomer because not much sleep involved) . . . but she and 4 of her friends had a great time. We started with dinner at Steuben's on 17th Avenue in Denver. The girls all ordered "The Bug Special", which is what Bug orders every single time we eat at Steubens . . . chicken strips, steamed green beans, and the best french fries outside of McDonald's.

They sat us at the back of the restaurant . . . imagine that . . . .just because I had 5 squealing, excited pre-teen girls . . . we were put in the back of the restaurant.

Here are Cat, Court, Izzy, Bug, & Ana . . .




Here is Bug with her cake . . . an extremely low fat cake composed of chocolate with chocolate chips in the batter cake (3 layers), with cookies and cream filling, topped by buttercream frosting. And the restaurant brought them all ice cream to accompany the cake . . . so thoughtful (heavy sarcasm here).



After what felt like a very long car ride with 5 squealing, excited pre-teen girls hyped up on LOTS of sugar, all while listening to the soundtrack of "Camp Rock", we made it to the aquarium where the girls changed into t-shirts and went on a tour.


After the tour of the aquarium and some games with the aquarium educators who, unfortunately, felt the need to bring a hideous, evil snake into the room, take it out of its cage and parade it through our group, we started making preparations to . . . sleep with the sharks.

As we lay in our sleeping bags (on the concrete floor!!), this was the view above us. And when all the lights went out, the sharks really started circling. As well as other extremely large fish and turtles. Once when I awoke, there were 3 sharks circling right over my head. Talk about a wake-up call. Barracudas, sharks, sting rays . . . all night long . . . in the dark . . .while sleeping on a concrete floor. But . . . the girls LOVED it . . . thought it was the greatest party.

The next morning, the Aquarium treated us to bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, bisquits, and juice for breakfast, then the girls were able to give the pirahnas their breakfast of shrimp, watch the tiger in the rainforest search for his whipped cream breakfast treat, and meet a macaw named Ricky.

It was a very fun birthday party . . . although my back took a few days to recover from the experience. LOL

And then last night, Robert and I went to the hockey game where the Colorado Avalanche played the San Jose Sharks . . . and the Avs got bit . . . I mean "beat" . . . 5-3. But it was still great fun for me . . . my very first professional hockey game. It was at the Pepsi Center, which is such a nice facility. And my guy was at my side, so it was a great night. Robert caught a t-shirt at one of the period breaks for Bug, so she was very happy when we got home. And I bought an Avs jersey to wear at the next game Robert and I go to as it will be against the Vancouver Canucks, his favorite team. Since he will be wearing his Canucks jersey, I thought I should have an Avs jersey on so we don't get pummeled by Avs fans. I'll make sure to get a picture of us so you can see. The game is in December.

This coming weekend, we're all 3 headed to Chicago for Bug's birthday trip. Dinner at American Girl Place on her actual birthday, then the next day we're going to shop, see Wicked, and have dinner with our friends that moved to Chicago in July. We're looking very forward to some Garrett's popcorn!

Wanted: Sleeping Pills . . . ASAP

This will be me tonight, sleeping with sharks . . . . and eels . . . and pirahnas . . . and other slippery wet things. Bug decided some time ago that she wanted to have her birthday party be a sleep-over at the Downtown Denver Aquarium. It sounded very fun at the time, but now I'm having some anxiety. After visiting the Aquarium, I now know that there are snakes in the building. Hideous, grotesque, evil snakes . . . . snakes and tornadoes are my irrational fears, so please . . . no emails or comments about any value whatsoever of a snake. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to think about them. I don't want them in my world. Yet, tonight, I will be sleeping in an enclosed area with them in the building. I would rather put on a wetsuit and spend the entire night in the shark tank.

The Harry Potter scene where the glass disappears and the snake escapes keeps running through my mind. I'm convinced one is going to escape during the night, make its way to my sleeping bag, and bite me. Never mind that there are also tigers in this Aquarium (part of a rain forest exhibit). I can handle a tiger . . . . but not a snake. So . . . if anyone has any Lunesta or other wonderful sleeping aids . . . . please get them to me by 7:00 tonight . . . . that's when the Aquarium locks the doors . . . and there I'll be . . . . until 9 AM tomorrow morning.

what was I thinking?????

The reason I haven't been blogging lately...

This is Robert. We met in Parking Lot D of Dick's Sporting Goods Park on the 4th of July following a Rapids soccer game and the largest fireworks show in the state. We were parked beside each other and could not even move out of our slots for a good 45 minutes or so. He reminded Bug and I of our friend Ken from Canada --- the height, age, hair color, and even his glasses were the same. And on the other side of us were some scary people, i.e., drunk and in a huge family argument. So Bug and I struck up a conversation with Robert. And . . . oddly enough . . . he's from Canada too, from Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. (How cool is that???) And a former professional soccer player for Canada . . . now a mechanical engineer living in Denver. As unnerved as Bug and I were by the drunken people, Robert was a complete joy to be parked beside. He also coaches youth competitive soccer, so he and Bug had a lot to talk about. I was very sad when traffic opened up and we were able to pull away. He was behind me and I could see his headlights for the next 15-20 minutes as we made our way through the lots and open fields the police had opened up to move the traffic jam. I thought about him for days. Bug kept talking about the nice man from the parking lot and how she wished he was her soccer coach. I even called Colorado Fusion (Bug's club) to see if he was going to be coaching there in the Fall . . . no luck. . . . But . . . . as fate would have it . . . .

In mid-September, I went for the first time onto Facebook, looking for a potential claimant to see if the person had posted incriminating remarks on a profile and . . . on a lark . . . typed in Robert's name and . . . . there he was . . . on the screen in front of me . . . . what to do? what to do? . . . After a very long while of trying to get my nerve up, I finally emailed him . . . . reminded him of the Independence Day parking fiasco and our conversation. Not too much later, I got an email back from him!! Yes! He remembered me! And was so sweet in his email . . . said he was flattered I remembered him and mentioned "fate". We exchanged email addresses and phone numbers . . . . started emailing and texting, and the next week, Bug and I met him at the Rapids game at half-time. We were unable to get our schedules together to meet up again and that Thursday following the game, he had to have surgery on a fractured ankle and ligament damage . . . soccer injury. I thought about him the entire day of his surgery and texted him frequently over the next few days. On Sunday, Bug and I went and picked him up from his house to ease his cabin fever, and we went and saw The Dark Knight and went to dinner. It was so comfortable being with him ---- felt as though I had known him a very long time.

The following Saturday, we made plans to go to the soccer game together. In the afternoon, Bug got a call from a friend to spend the night . . . she wanted me to call Robert and ask him if it was okay if she didn't go (she was concerned he might not want to go if it was just me!!!! Seriously, she said that!!!!), so I called him and he assured me it was fine if it was just the two of us. We had dinner beforehand then went to the game. It was cold and shortly after half time, he put his arm around me . . . and it was just the best feeling in the world . . . we fit together perfectly. Oddly, we attracted two different Rapids mascots who kept coming up to us, trying to separate us, acting as if they were going to put the moves on me . . . both felt terrible when they looked down and realized Robert was in a cast. But it was as if our energy had attracted them to us. I was able to meet one of his friends at half-time, who later texted Robert "nice catch", which I thought was really cute.

After the game, we drove through Starbucks for lattes, drove back to his house, and watched Jerry Maguire on TV. Apparently, it's a very romantic movie . . . LOL . . .because we were sitting so close . . . I don't think a piece of paper would have fit between us. The rest is history so they say. We've been pretty inseparable since and having a lot of fun.

Last Monday night, October 13th, we even celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving. Here are a few pics . . .

Admittedly, not a great shot here of me . . . .but all of you who know me know how much cooking stresses me out!!!

Robert brought me flowers and Bug a funny pumpkin . . . isn't it the greatest to open the door to a man bearing flowers???? Chivalry . . . it still exists!

Robert zapped Bug with a little whipped cream before we sat down to dessert . . . . my very first home-made pumpkin pie . . .

I'll try to blog more, but am enjoying spending so much time with Robert and Bug. Besides soccer, he's a hockey goalie on an adult men's team, rides mountain bikes and motorcycles, wind surfs, snowboards, water skies, snow skies, plays golf and tennis, and practices martial arts . . . so I'm thinking I have an active future ahead of me if things continue to go as they are. :):):)

Wish me luck!!!!

Playing hooky in the Rockies . . .

Yesterday, my friend Tom and I decided we needed some outdoor time so we both took off of work, rendevouzed in Boulder, where he lives, and drove to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a gorgeous day, and we had high hopes of seeing elk and some changing aspens . . . . we were not disappointed. We went in at Cub Lake trailhead and within five minutes encountered these guys . . .

They were so gorgeous and not at all disturbed by us. Well, the male looked a little disturbed, but I suspect that is because other males were scattered around, in the trees, bugling, meaning this male would have to defend his place with the females by nightfall. (And the sound of bugling elk is pretty disturbing --- if Tom had not been with me, I would have been really freaked out.)

We continued on . . . this little guy was sitting on a rock and . . . again, not disturbed by us at all as I took his picture . . .

Not much later, I looked down and a snake slithered right by my hiking boot. I completely froze and couldn't find my voice. When Tom (finally) realized something was wrong . . . he looked down and saw the snake and said "Oh, no worries, just a rattler." ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???!!!! "Just a rattler!!!!" I tell you . . . . these Colorado boys are a different breed . . . . just a rattler . . . . he then said, in complete awe, "Oh my God, you're trembling," as if that was a completely unnatural reaction to a . . . . RATTLESNAKE!!! He finally coaxed me onward with promises of our great picnic at the lake we had planned.

Unfortunately, all of the pictures of me are on Tom's camera, and he on mine. But I was very proud of myself. We hiked the 2.5 miles to the lake, and me with a fairly heavy pack on my back. He had one too, but the man is uber fit . . . former elite tri-athlete . . . . even beat Lance Armstrong in the swim portion of a meet once, only to get his booty kicked in the bike segment.

Anyway, we made it to the lake and laid out our blanket for the picnic. . . .

Tom scored huge brownie points when he pulled out a Diet Dr. Pepper he had packed for me . . .

We had lots of critter visitors, who apparently found us quite interesting, especially when we unpacked our food. Ducks kept landing in the water right next to us and waddling up; a mountain jay (which looks like a blue jay on steroids) tried to interrupt our party on several occasions and once when we were lying down, soaking up some sun, we heard noises and looked up and a chipmunk was within inches of us. And we could not shake him the rest of the picnic. I tried throwing some carmelized walnuts away from us so that he would spend his time gathering and hiding them, but he would just eat them and come back. At one point, he scooted under our blanket and just sat there like a lump . . . so we had our picnic . . . me, Tom, and our little lump right between us. It was so bizarre. I didn't take his picture because he was so close to us (inches away) that I was afraid he would freak out and bite one of us if he was frighted by the camera noises. Chipmunks, apparently, are known to carry rabies in these parts.

But we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, pigging out on crackers, Cotswald cheddar & chive, sundried tomato pesto, carmelized walnuts, scallopini chicken, pasta salad, and fruit. Tom had also brought some wonderful dark chocolate . . . . but we were too full and still had another 3 or so miles left in the hike. Oh . . . and we had a wonderful zinfandel from the Andretti Winery in Napa.

After lunch, we headed out to find Fern Lake Trail. And the ferns were so pretty, littered next to the streams. It was such an amazingly beautiful day. Unfortunately, we were having such a great time that we were late coming off the mountain and Tom's 14-year-old son was not thrilled about having to wait at school. Thankfully, Bug was already scheduled for extended care since I'm normally at work.

Aside from that timing glitch, it was a great escape from work and the city and one of the funnest days I've had since moving to Colorado. We were like a couple of school kids, playing hooky from school, laughing and enjoying each other's company, with seemingly no cares in the world . . . .just for a day . . . . but it was great to spend time in the beautiful Colorado mountains.

Food poisoning . . . .

Geez Louise!!!! Bug and I went to a restaurant north of Denver on Saturday night to celebrate (1) her acceptance into a competitive children's choir; (2) her team's 5-0 shut out for the second week in a row in soccer; and (3) my having passed the horrible licensing exam that I took in August. So we were excited about our dinner. The restaurant we chose always receives rave reviews and is located in a community where I'm thinking of buying a home. Well, I ordered fettucine with calamari . . . . and it darn near killed me. I knew something was wrong when I started eating it, and only took a few bites, leaving more than 3/4's of the meal on the plate. But it was enough to get me. I woke up at 1:00 in the morning and it didn't subside until about 5 the next night. Bug was terrified, as were the dogs apparently. They (unfortunately) did not leave my side the entire time . . . . didn't matter if I was in the bathroom, or in the bed, or crawling back and forth in between . . . they were RIGHT beside me. I didn't have the energy to even speak their names, much less try to get them to move. Poor Bug had to take care of me, the dogs, and herself all that day. Although, clearly, I need to have a little nutrition talk with her . . . . learned yesterday that her diet consisted of brownies for breakfast, pizza rolls for lunch, and popcorn for dinner. That's my kid!! I threw up so much that I strained my vocal cords and have almost no voice now --- which everyone seems to find it very amusing when a lawyer loses her voice . . . Me? I'm not so amused.

And being laid up made us miss our hike on Sunday as well as the Rapids game. Not happy about that at all. Hopefully, we'll be back out on the trails this weekend, and there is another game Saturday night.

Anyway, I'm on the mend otherwise and not looking forward to eating out any time soon.

Second hike . . . Red Rocks

Bug and I completed our second hike yesterday. We drove to Morrison and hiked the Red Rocks Trail and Morrison Slide. Unfortunately, after coming off of the Morrison Slide, I started down the right path on the Red Rocks Trail, then hesitated because I saw other hikers going the opposite direction of me. I asked "which way to the parking lot", not realizing there was a parking lot at another trailhead which looped into the Red Rocks Trail. So I made what ended up being a 2-mile mistake, which turned our 4-mile hike into a 6-mile hike. That cost me a "Camp Rock" DVD because Bug was NOT happy with me. This hike was much more strenuous than the one the week before. We ascended 600 feet over several switchbacks, and part of them were gut-busters to us newbies. And with my mistake, we had to ascend another 200 feet. But, it was good for us ultimately. And we saw the most gorgeous 8-point buck --- he came right down on the trail in front of us. Stopped and then headed down the mountain. I can't believe we were that close to him. We hear the elk are on the move in Estes Park, so we're going to head up there soon. And, in Colorado, the leaves change in September, so our goal is to be out in the mountains every weekend for the next several weeks . . . can't wait to see the Aspens change.

On Saturday, Bug had her first soccer game with the new team. They won 5-0 --- pretty cool! Saturday night we went out for Indian food and then played tennis. I have lessons again tonight and my double play on Wednesday. It's gotten so cool here now that I'm having to play in long pants and jackets. We actually had to turn the heat on in the house Friday night. Wild --- I'm use to Indian summers and air conditioning in September. I can't remember the last time I had the air conditioning on . . . . we're even having to close the windows when we sleep because it gets so chilly.

But for right now, I'm happy remembering the beauty of the Red Rocks. :)