Fun in the Sun

I grew up in a neighborhood and summertime was a time for riding bikes up and down the street and usually the neighborhood kids would all jump on the band wagon and within an hour there were 10 kids yelling and laughing and playing and many times that house that everyone ended up at was our house.  My parents were smart.  They bought a ping pong table and we had it set up in our garage.  We had a basketball net.  We had a great house for hanging out at and my parents liked the fact that we were there, especially my Mom so she could listen to our conversations and most especially so she could keep an eye on us.  Now that I'm a Mom I want everyone to hang out up at our house.  Our house isn't a convenient place to hang out at.  We are the last house on the road and a mile and a half away from the town.  It's uphill, and a hard uphill, for kids to ride to.  But, none the less, the kids are here today and having a ball.  Even the dog is happy out there with them.  They are playing volleyball, soccer, swinging in the hammock, swinging on the tire swing, zipping on the zip line over the river and, of course, Jack has a bonfire going.  Even though I'm not out there with them, I can hear the laughter and the fun they are having.  It's bringing  back some very wonderful memories of growing up and having the time of my life. 
I hope our kids remember how great they have it.  It's paradise up here. 

The Other Half

Apparently, that is what some would call someone like me.  This goes along with my title on another blog post, "Going against the grain." 
I have always been going against the grain since I was a little kid.  I was suppose to be this cute little girlie girl and yet I was more dirty after a hard days play than my brother's.  I was suppose to wear dresses to school in 1st, 2nd, 3rd grades because that is what little girls did only I would bring long pants to school and slap those babies on under my dress, over my tights and boy did I feel good when I got those pants on.  I was suppose to behave but never did.  I just liked to rebel and when it was time to go to college, I went but dropped pretty much every class and partied like a rock star.  What a great time college was for me.  Then, I decided that I needed to become a ski bum.  I would, once again, go against the grain and do something I probably should not do because I should settle down and get married to my then boyfriend and live my live.  NOPE!  I was antsy and needed to not do what was expected of me by society, not my parents.  My parents loved my free spirit, after I made their life hell.  Once I was old enough to do my own thing they couldn't have been more supportive.  I love them for that.  So, ski bumming it was and still is.  Kind of.  I mean, we are raising our own little ski bums and we have made a great live for ourselves here.  We don't ski every day, all day, anymore.  Well, Jack does but that's another blog.  Anywho, tonight I waited on a 4 top who just didn't get it.  They were above and beyond, well, me for one.  Clearly they were very educated and "worldly" and they had no clue as to how pretentious they were.  After listening to their conversation all night they were talking about school, Yale in particular.  I figured this guy was a Yale graduate and I had the urge to say, "Hey, did you go to Yale?  My brother got his masters degree from Yale.  Perhaps you know him", but I didn't.  Their conversation went something like this.  Blah, blah, blah, and most who get their education blah, blah, blah.  Then you have those who don't get an education and blah, blah, blah and life is like blah, blah, blah but that must be how the OTHER HALF is." 
Yes, I am the other half. 
Yes, sometimes I just have to write this stuff just to defend myself and my choices in life.  Why?  I don't know I just do.  Maybe you're one who uses this term about people like me.  The term 'The Other Half" meaning people who aren't like you.  I say, "GET OVER YOURSELVES!" 
I guarantee my half is full and yours is empty.

The Heat We Are Not Experiencing

Everyone is complaining about the heat.  Everyone but us.  I'm actually curled up in a blanket every morning and night and the other day I had to turn the heat on in my kitchen.  Most everyone who comes into the restaurant is from Texas or Arkansas or Arizona or somewhere where it is 110 degrees.  It's the same story for everyone.  You just can't do anything in that heat. 
Last night as I was driving home from work, with my heat on, there was frost on the bushes on the side of the road.  I couldn't believe it.  But, with the rain we have been having it's no wonder.  It gets chilly here at night and it's coming.  It meaning WINTER.  I hate to say it but as fast as June and July went, I don't want to think about it.  I could use some stinking, sweating, sweltering hotness. 
I'm sorry for all of the people who are experiencing the awful heat.  I'm not sure I can do that for an extended period of time.  Costa Rica was hot last summer but never 100 degrees hot.  And we lived near the ocean.  We were in the water for 3 months straight.  Heaven. 
So, those of you who are trying to beat the heat, come to the mountains for a week or move to Costa Rica and live by the ocean.

Going Against the Grain

Today was all about doing things I don't usually think of doing. 
For the past 8 months, or whenever they announced the grand opening for Ikea, I have had the date penciled in my calendar.  As I turned the page to July, back on the first, I got all excited because there it was, in pencil, that Ikea was opening.  I wrote that, "Ikea Opening" in the July 27th box.
I actually held myself to it.  I set my alarm for 7am.  Jordan, the night before, told me she didn't want to go.  I was glad because I knew that she would be a total buzz kill for my big day.  No offense but if you knew Jordan you'd understand.  She just doesn't have a good time doing the unknown and it's more stressful for her and big crowds, forget it.   Hannah on the other hand was a little wishy washy and didn't know if she wanted to go or not so I had Jack wake her up and ask her and she was up and adam and looking forward to it.  She grabbed her violin and put it in the car.  Hannah is so organized that she figured we could stop at the violin place and have it tuned and get the reed thing fixed.  I told her that Ikea was the priority and if we had time we would.  She rolled her eyes. 
We got in the car and drove down the driveway at 8:30.  It was cold out so we cranked the heat. It's July for cripes sake. 
The drive to Denver was quick and once we got to our turn off for Ikea the signs were directing us where to go.  It was all smooth and quick until we got in the traffic line leading into the Ikea parking lot.  What a slow moving drag that was.  And then you have your sneaks acting like they are driving past you on another mission only to try to jockey in front of you and get 10 or so cars ahead of the line.  Sorry old man and wife who was yelling at you.  I just couldn't sit in that line for 20 min and you just drive up and think I'll let you in.  I was on a mission too.  Plus, I was sweating like a pig, because I refuse to turn on the AC because I seem to have some weird thing against it. But I had not problem cranking that heat in the morning.   Hannah and I were singing and laughing and I told her to get her violin out and stand on the curb and make some money.  She kindly told me her bow was torn and it was out of tune. 
Finally, we got to park.  We got out of the car and the car next to us was a mother/daughter/baby team and I shut my door and Hannah shut her door and I said, "OH MY GOSH, Hannah.  I forgot my wallet!!"  I thought that other mother was going to die.  I thought she was going to give me her wallet she felt so bad for us.  I was teasing, of course, and we all had a great laugh.  I told grandma that we had just drove 100 miles for this.  She couldn't believe it. 
We walked in and the news was there.  We boarded the escalator with our handy Ikea loot bags and turned around and smiled and waved for the camera but they were taking them down.  We hit the bathrooms, after standing in that line for 10 minutes and we were ready.  It was so crowded. 
We started walking and everyone was bumping into us and it was hard to maneuver around.  We got some great ideas and kept walking and it seemed everyone was going to the same place.  I figured it was the food court.  After we got into the 3rd theme room I saw that there were arrows on the floor and we were walking against those darn arrows.  Of course Ikea would have one way to walk.  They are the King/Queens of organization.   We were walking Ikea backwards and not doing it right.  I figured, heck, I'm not turning my butt around to get cattle herded through this store like they want it.  I'm going to see Ikea the way I want to.  I already am doing the exact opposite thing I am comfortable with and that is shopping at a Grand Opening for a huge store and driving 100 miles to boot.  I am going to go against the grain and walk that damn store the wrong way.  So there.  
Well, we survived and we figured out how to see everything we wanted to see and we spent $37 on some fine items.  The check out line was the worst and Hannah was ready to pass out.  She was cranky.  We walked to our car and the funny thing is, The mother/daughter/ baby team were just getting back to their car too.  We had a good laugh with them again.   
We drove out of Ikea and headed over to Home Depot and had ourselves a hot dog and a coke and sat outside on the picnic table and enjoyed the moment. 
It was a fun day but I won't go to another Grand Opening again.  Unless I get some free schwag. 

This May Offend

This week has been a very busy week, work wise.  It's good.  The money has been great and I am getting hours.  Attitudes are good, although we are getting "short" with each other over the little things at work.  We're all like brother's and sister's who need to have a spat or two.  Nothing major but you can tell when we are busy and we are working a lot.  We get serious about our jobs and we turn into worker bees and get all focused on the task at hand.  Our humor isn't as free and the job turns into a job.  We have had nice people in with the occasional doink who just shouldn't go out to dinner, but we all have learned how to deal with those people pretty well. 
Tonight we had a huge banquet for 120 people.  Now, most restaurants can accommodate that many people no problem.  We can too when the weather is good.  We have the best patio around with views to die for.  Well, it rained on their parade tonight so it was a bit tricky to disperse 120 people for cocktails for an hour in our quaint lodge.  The fires were lit, as they are every night and the doors and windows were all open and the weather was amazing.  I haven't seen rain like that since we lived in Costa Rica last summer.  It was crazy.  And the lightning was incredible.  What a show.  We all were having fun and we were all laughing about last night. 
I, which everyone does eventually, screwed up my words at a table last night and it was funny.  I had a 4-top sit down and I went up to the table and did my spiel.  I told them about the bread, the wine list, and the menu.  I told them I would give them a few minutes and if they had any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.  They asked.  One of the men asked me what Fois Gras was.  That was our appetizer for the evening.  Fois Gras is duck liver but when you usually say LIVER to people they immediately get grossed out.  It's different than LIVER and it's amazing.  I love Fois Gras.  Anywho, the guy asked me what it was and I was standing at the table all proper and my reply was, "Well sir, it's dick lover."  I actually said dick lover to this guy.  I immediately knew I had just said dick lover and corrected myself and told him it was duck liver.  Then I proceeded to tell him how it just melts in your mouth and if he has never had it he should try it.  Well, he ordered the Fois Gras.  I went back into the kitchen told everyone what I had just said.  You can imagine the laughs I got and Chef loved that one.  We were all still laughing about it tonight. 
At the end of the night last night our kitchen crew, who are so nice, asked me how my night was.  I replied, "my night was great because I got to say DICK LOVER to my table." 
I love my job. 

Too Many Deaths

Another tragedy hit Summit County this week.  It's too much.  Another life was taken at too young of an age.  My heart is breaking for Carol and the kids.  They are friends of ours and they have 4 kids.  Billy was kayaking down the Blue River and died doing what he loved to do.  I had read in our local newspaper that someone had died on the Blue and they hadn't released the name.  Hannah and I dropped Jordan off at the movies, went to the farmers market in Dillon and I bumped into some friends and, of course, everyone was hoping it was someone we didn't know.  We were all talking about the death of the kayaker in the Blue.   Well, we do know him and now we are dealing with another death in our tight knit community.  The service will be Thursday at Copper Mountain.  The last time I saw Billy was at Leif's service in Keystone.  We shared a hug and some sadness. 
Life is way too short.  Hug your kids, your family, your friends, your pets, yourself.   

Amazing Race

My good friend, Deb, called me a couple of weeks ago and told me we are applying for the reality show "The Amazing Race."  Now, I'm not a big fan of reality shows but I do watch this one and I like it.  I've never imagined myself on the show, never had any desire to be on the show, never thought of myself as going through the trouble to apply.  I am the spectator and like sitting on my couch judging how everyone else does it and stating my opinion with my family while watching. 
Now, I'm making a video, filling out the application, with my good friend Deb, tonight, to be on the show.  This is something that she has wanted to do and she has already applied once, with another one of our friends but didn't get picked.  We won't get picked either but what the heck. 
My selling point will be that I am now off of my bio identical hormone creams because I can't afford them anymore and I am once again a crazy person that needs to win $1,000,000,000 so I can be a peaceful person again.  A million bucks could go along way in my life.
Our name, which Deb doesn't know yet, will be the BMW's, short for The Bitchin' Mountain Women.  Perfect huh?  I'm sure we would be dubbed The Bitchin' Moanin' Women at some point.  Maybe we could even be sponsored by BMW.  Do you get sponsored for The Amazing Race? 
 
So, send some good energy our way and cross your fingers that we will be picked for the Amazing Race.  It would be good TV.  I can guarantee that. 

So Much to Learn So Little Time

I can't get enough.  Everyday, it seems, something I see or watch on TV or hear in conversation is something I need to know more about.   I wish I were this way back when I was going to school.  The drive to know would have been a good thing for my grades in high school.  And, that day in college??  That was the best day of my life (ha) but I sure didn't apply myself to those books. 
Anywho, I love learning and the convenience of the computer has made my life so much easier to get information. 
Take, for instance, extreme couponing.  I watched the show because I decided I was going to save on our groceries and if I learned how to coupon effectively I could get everything I buy at the store for free.  Such a deal.  The show was extreme, hence the name.  Those people are crazy and eat like crap and have a hoarding issue.  Besides the point though.  I still wanted to save and decided to go to all of the coupon websites that looked reputable and get coupons at the click of a key.  Well, I am saving but my goal of getting my groceries for free is never going to happen.  However, I learned that I can download my coupons directly onto my value card.  Convenience?  You bet.  I love that. 



I look around my house and wonder how I can fix this or change that or better the other.  All I have to do is type it in and there are a gazillion you tube videos on it and more.  I am going to reupholster my wing back chairs, one day.  The herb garden I started in my pots, not doing well but well enough.  I'll google why they are suffering.  My guess is the altitude.  What essential oils will get rid of the critters eating my poppy's?  I looked that up and now my poppy's are almost ready to bloom. 
I woke up this morning with the goal of learning to play "Train, Train" on my harmonica.  I will you tube myself when I do.  But first, I have some coupons that are going to expire and I need to get them used up. 

What a Difference a Pharmacist Makes

Yesterday I had a very frustrating day dealing with a pharmacist.  I thought a pharmacist is suppose to be helpful, knowledgeable and caring, especially when you are on a serious medication.  Not the case the with new gal at our Target. 
I went to get a prescription refilled for my daughter last week and I was given a coupon for a free trial offer since the medication is $250 for 14 tabs.  Who can afford that??  Well, I went to pick up the meds and the doc hadn't called it in yet.  I asked if they could call the doc but no can do.  No problem, I would.  I made the call on my cell phone and docs office was on lunch.  Now, when I'm 'down the hill' it's a long way from my home.  I had to go to work so back home to get ready and get to work.  I send Jack to pick up the meds at 5, since he had an errand to do down there and told him that the last time I was in there the gal said to just give our name and they had the coupon for us.  Jack followed my instructions and they, he said, acted like he was trying to get meds that weren't for him.  He gave them the info, didn't have our prescription card, which is on file in their computer, and yet they sent him away saying they couldn't help him.   Yesterday I go back with coupon in hand, and prescription card and speak to the guy on the floor.  His name tag said trainer so I knew this would be hard.  He got the mean gal to help and she basically looked at me and said that the coupon I had didn't have any information on it and shrugged her shoulders.  I explained that this was day 4 now that my daughter had not been on her medication and what are my options because I didn't have $250 to fork out waiting for samples from my doc.  Not her problem.  Shrugging shoulders again.  I asked if she could call my docs office and ask them if they had any info on billing and I was doing my best to get her help.  Nope.  She could not call the docs office because in her words, "they don't know."  I looked at her and stared waiting for her to understand that this is now becoming a power trip and she could care less about the well being of my daughter.  My eyes started to tear up and I was shaking.  I said thank you very much to her and walked away with her and her co worker staring at me with little smirks on their faces.  She just would not help me.
I called the docs office and she offered to call this into another pharmacist.  I went now to the other pharmacy and got a totally different treatment.  The coupon was the same issue but she was not about to let me go without solving this issue and her main concern was that my daughter didn't go another day without taking her meds.  She called my docs office and the Target pharmacy to speak with the pharmacist about the prescription, only to be put on hold for 10 minutes and they never took her call.  She was helping me and clearly had compassion for the issue that my daughter was out of medication and it was an exorbitant amount of money that I didn't have.  Given the fact I had a free coupon for a 30 day supply she was not going to let that go unnoticed.  She ended up giving me one dose for the day and said she would call me today after she made some phone calls.  She did and she couldn't have been more helpful. 
Bottom line is that the unhelpful pharmacist was just that.  Unhelpful and she could have cared less.  The helpful pharmacist was just that.  Very helpful and she definitely cared about what she was doing.  I am thankful for her.  I made mistakes in this and the holiday weekend was not something I planned for.  I take responsibility for that and I did call the company directly to get the info for the billing.  Easy enough when you have a computer at your fingertips as the Target pharmacist did. 

It's done.  My prescriptions are no longer being picked up at Target. 

Are You Ready to Rumble?

Fourth of July is my favorite holiday by far.  No stress, no gifts, no cards, no baking.  Just grill something up, whip together a salad or two, cut up come watermelon and crack a beer.  It' that easy.  Oh, and did I mention, all you usually need to wear are flip flops and a sundress?  It's just bliss. 
Yesterday, I had a near perfect day.  I woke up at 9, poured myself a cup of coffee and enjoyed the sound of our river and the sunshine.  I knew it was going to be a good day.  Plus, I had the day off.    The girls rode their bikes to town and I worked in the yard and cleaned up a bunch of shit.  Literally, dog poop.  Not from Teller because ever since he was a puppy I have no idea where he takes his business.  He's very considerate though and must wander far off into the woods because it's never been a problem.  Scooby, on the other hand, is not so considerate.  He's now 3 months old and still comes up to our area to do his business.  We love Scooby.  He's our renter's puppy and now a part of our family.  He'll figure it out.  But I did spend the entire morning scolding him for digging up my flowers, running away with my glove, biting the hose, humping my back as I was bent over weeding.  I forgot how high maintenance a puppy is.  He was NAUGHTY today.  He finally had enough running around and being up to shenanigans and went to take a nap with Teller.  I got on my bike and rode to town to see what the girls were up to.  They had set up a lemonade stand at the only stop sign in town, smart, and were killing it.  After a hard day of selling lemonade they made $47.00.  Now, I don't know about you but when I sold lemonade I barely made anything.  They had to split their profit 5 ways and pay back the cost for the lemonade but still.  Good job. 
I rode up Puru Creek via the high road and it was gorgeous to say the least.  My legs were already killing me because I had worked out to P90X, legs and back, and got my bags packed.  Needless to say when I got home I was pretty whooped.  I got in the tub and soaked. 
The plan was, was to go to Dillon for the music at the amphitheater.  Well, once I got out of the tub, poured a glass of wine and sat on my beautiful deck for a bit it was 5 and no one was even home yet.  Jack and the girls got home at 5:30 and Jack's words were, "Hef, I love you lots but I am NOT going back down the hill to sit with 1000 people."  I agreed.  Our back yard is too beautiful and since we weren't here all last summer to enjoy it we sure are taking advantage of it this summer.  We built a fire and started the coals and grilled and had dinner in our back yard, by the fire, next to the river, just the 4 of us.  Can you say HEAVEN?
After dinner the girls set up the croquet set and I cleaned up and Jack chilled.  The girls wanted to roast smores and asked if we could call the neighbors.  Sure.  We did and some folks from town came up and we sat around the fire.  Greg came home and he had just purchased a few hundred dollars worth of fireworks so he went to the apartment and got a couple of boxes of his goods and put on a super great fire work show for us.  The kids, all 5 of them, lay on the grass and laughed and screamed and were being total kids in the summer.  It was awesome. 
All through the mountains you could hear the pop and booms and rumbles from fireworks.  We were livin' the dream, once again. 
Someone looked at their watch and it was 11 pm.  Time to let the fire burn out and get to bed. 
I posted on my facebook page that if everyday could be like this day, my life would be perfect. 
I love the 4th. 
Tomorrow, we will continue to Rumble.

July 1st, 2011

It's hard to believe that it's already July.  It's the best month up here.  The peaks still are covered with snow but my yard is completely melted with the exception of a few piles of snow in the shady areas.  It's been in the 70's with an occasional 80 degree day.  The weather couldn't be more perfect.  I love summer. 
Here are some highlights already.

Jordan turned 15.
Survived a day taking 5 teenage girls to Glenwood Springs for a day at the pool then back here for a sleepover. 
Nana came for a visit.
Got our house stained and the trim painted.
After 9 years not having a washing machine in my house I finally have one.  Thanks Jack.
After 4 years of not being able to clean my oven or cook a turkey because the thing overheats and locks up, it's fixed.  I cleaned my oven yesterday for the first time in 4 years.  Thanks Jack.
Scooby, Greg's puppy (he's our renter), is growing and finally Teller and him are buddies.  It took awhile for Teller to tolerate him.
Hannah rode Blaire Witch. 
Rode the alpine slide in Breckenridge.  So fun.
Started working out to P90X. 
Made $260 at my garage sale and my shed has never been so empty.  But, I'll never do it again.  I'm not the garage sale type.  I love to go to them but not have them.
Got my Petunias planted.
Washed the windows.
Purged the clothes I haven't worn in over a year. 
Put away the ski clothes.  Why I do that I don't know.  We'll be skiing again in no time. 

These may not seem like highlights to you but they are in my life and it's only July 1. 

Happy July 1st.